![]() Evgeny Vitishko was given a three-year suspended sentence in 2012 for spray-painting the fence of a property in a forested area of Krasnodar region in which construction was banned. The property is suspected of being a dacha belonging to the governor of Krasnodar region, Aleksandr Tkachev. In December 2013, a court in the city of Tuapse ruled Vitishko had violated the terms of the suspended sentence and sent him to prison. A higher court upheld that decision in February 2014. Memorial Human Rights Centre considers Vitishko a political prisoner; Amnesty International has named him a "prisoner of conscience." Sources: 'URGENT ACTION
JAILED ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST ON HUNGER STRIKE,' Amnesty International, 9 April 2015 'Imprisoned Russian Environmental Activist Starts Hunger Strike,' RFE/RL, 8 April 2015 'ВЕРХОВНЫЙ СУД РОССИИ ОТКАЗАЛСЯ РАССМАТРИВАТЬ ЖАЛОБУ ВИТИШКО, ОСПАРИВАЮЩУЮ РЕШЕНИЕ О ЕГО ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИИ В КОЛОНИЮ,' Экологическая Вахта по Северному Кавказу, 7 April 2015 Russia: Civil society activist arrested ahead of start of Sochi Olympics, Amnesty International, 3 February 2014 Photo: HRO.org |
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