Vitishko declared a hunger strike

The activist of the Ecological Watch in the North Caucasus Evgeny Vitishko, who replaced the conditional punishment with a real term in a colony-settlement, announced a hunger strike. This was announced on Twitter by the participant of Ekovakhta Alexei Mandrigel.

In the past environment, the judge of the Krasnodar Kraisud Andrei Konnov rejected Vitishko's appeal . Thus, the decision of the Tuapse City Court of December 20, 2013 , issued by judge Igor Milinchuk, entered into force. Vitishko will go to a colony-settlement for three years. The regional court agreed with the arguments of the penitentiary inspection that the ecologist systematically violated the regime of serving a conditional term.

Now the activist is under administrative arrest of fabricated charges of petty hooliganism. In the meeting, he participated in the video from the Tuapse City Court, where he was delivered from a special detention center.

The countdown of the sentence for Vitishko will begin from the moment of his arrival in the colony. Although usually convicted people go to the penal colony on their own, it is possible that Vitishko will be delivered there under the escort.

Concern with a new turn in Vitishko on Thursday was also expressed in the representative office of the European Union in Moscow. "The European Union is very closely monitored by Mr. Vitishko in Krasnodar. We are concerned about the decision to replace a three -year condition with the real one due to the fact that he allegedly committed an administrative offense," the statement said.

“Such a punishment seems disproportionate, and it seems that it is aimed at preventing the presentation by Mr. Vitishko of his report on the influence of the Olympic Games on the environment,” noted in the representative office. “We confirm that we attach a priority importance to Russia's international obligations in the field of human rights to freedom of speech, expression, association before, during and after games in Sochi.”

Amnesty International recognized Vitishko as a prisoner of conscience and made an open letter to the IOC . Human rights activists called on the Olympic Committee to raise the question of the oppression of Russian environmentalists, as well as violations of freedom of speech and meetings in connection with the Olympics in Sochi. The petition in defense of Vitishko on the website of Amnesty International signed tens of thousands of people.

Human Rights Watch human rights organization said Vitishko’s sentence is politically motivated. In particular, it is associated with criticism of ecologists in relation to Olympic construction projects in Sochi. HRW also called on the IOC to “put pressure” on the Russian authorities so that they released the activist.

Vitishko also asked the International Olympic Committee to explain the verdict in the case. However, having received the response of the Russian authorities, they said that the replacement of the conditional term of Vitishko was not realized with the Olympic Games in Sochi and environmental activities. This was reported by The USA Today newspaper with reference to the press secretary of MOK Mark Adams. He explained to the publication that the IOC received convincing evidence that the Vitishko case was connected with vandalism, and he fell into the colony as a result of violation of the rules of the conditional sentence.

Colleague Vitishko on Ekovakhta, political emigrant Suren Gazaryan called the IOC statement "shameful and false."

Evgeny Vitishko in a special receiver. Video shot by human rights activists from the public observation commission:

On June 20, 2012, the Judge of the Tuapse District Court of KubanGalina Avji sentenced Vitishko and his Gazaryan to three years conditionally on charges of spoiling the fence in the country of the governor of the region Alexander Tkachev. Later, a new business was opened against Gazaryan, after which he fled from Russia and received a political officer in Estonia .

In October, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court Anatoly Tolkachenko abolished the sentence to Gazaryan and Vitishko and decided to initiate supervisory production on the presidium of the Krasnodar Chief of Kraisud. In the resolution, Tolkachenko indicated that the motives of the actions of eco -activists, named in the sentence by the hooligan, were not actually established. In addition, the court did not consider how legitimate the construction of the fence, allegedly damaged by ecologists, was.

However, on December 18, the Presidium of the regional City rejected the supervisory complaint , evaluating the decision of Tolkachenko as unreasonable. “In fact, the regional court recognized the decision of a higher court illegal,” Gazaryan noted in this regard. “It is inexplicably from the point of view of the law, but it is expected: in the territory of the region, the judiciary belongs to the governor Tkachev, like everyone else.”