Alexander Kolchenko's arrest extended

The term of detention of anti-fascist Alexander Kolchenko has been extended until April 16, 2015.

This decision was made today by the Lefortovo District Court, thus satisfying the petition of the investigation. The investigator argued his opinion about the need to extend the arrest of Kolchenko accused of committing terrorist acts, in particular, by the fact that the investigation period in this case was extended until April 28, 2015.

Alexander Kolchenko was detained on May 16, 2014 by the FSB of Russia in the center of Simferopol. After some time, Kolchenko was transferred to Moscow, where he was placed in a pre-trial detention center in Lefortovo.

In May 2014, director Oleg Sentsov, historian Alexei Chirniy and lawyer Gennady Afanasyev were also detained. All four were charged with terrorism.

According to investigators, all four, being members of the Right Sector organization, had the goal of committing sabotage and terrorist acts in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta, in particular, explosions on the night of May 8-9, 2014 of improvised explosive devices near the "Eternal Flame Memorial". ” and a monument to Vladimir Lenin in Simferopol, as well as the arson of the offices of the public organization “Russian Community of Crimea” and the representative office of the United Russia party in Simferopol in April 2014.

Kolchenko himself denies involvement in terrorist activities.

As it became known today, one of the defendants, Gennady Afanasiev, was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Also, until April 9, 2015, the term of detention was extended for another person accused of committing terrorist attacks in Crimea, Aleksey Chirniy. Chirniy himself and his lawyer did not object to the extension: "At the discretion of the court." Chirniy confessed and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.