18:18, 21 December 2015

Darya Polyudova sentenced to two years in colony-settlement

Today, the Oktiabrskiy District Court of Krasnodar has found the activist Darya Polyudova guilty of public calls to separatism and extremism, and sentenced her to two years of freedom deprivation in a colony-settlement. She was not taken into custody in the courtroom, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

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".

According to Darya, she had hoped for a conditional sentence, adding that after receiving the court's decision she will appeal against it at the Krasnodar Territorial Court.

"They gave me 10 days for lodging the appeal complaint. On December 31, at my own expense, I should arrive to colony-settlement," Darya Polyudova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, noting that in the near future she is obliged to turn to the territorial authority of the Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN), which defines the place of serving the term.

The court took into account the six months Polyudova spent at the Krasnodar SIZO (pre-trial prison); so, her remaining term is 1.5 years, the Krasnodar activist Victor Chirikov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

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

Author: Anna Gritsevich

Source: CK correspondent