Prosecutors ask 3.5 years of imprisonment for Polyudova

The pleadings at the trial of the case of the Krasnodar activist Darya Polyudova were held today at the Oktiabrskiy District Court of Krasnodar. Prosecutors demanded to sentence her to 3.5 years in a settlement-colony, Andrei Sabinin, a Polyudova's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The defence, in its turn, has stated at the pleadings that Polyudova is tried for "expressing her thoughts", and she is not guilty of the alleged crimes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Darya Polyudova in August 2014 was one of the organizers of the action "March for Federalization of Kuban", directed against Russia's policy towards Ukraine; however, the action never took place. The activist is accused of public calls to separatism and extremism; however, she refuses to plead guilty. Polyudova is on the list of political prisoners compiled by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Today, court read out the testimony of activist Sergey Titarenko, who had also intended to participate in the above march. The prosecution believes his evidence to be the main proof of Polyudova's guilt, another activist Victor Chirikov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The next court session will provide Darya with the last plea, and, possibly, the sentence will be announced," said Chirikov, adding that this session will take place on December 21.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.