The case of weeding tomatoes

In the Tambov region, a consideration of the case on the parole of the Krasnodar ecologist Evgeny Vitishko began

On March 31, the Kirsanovsky District Court of the Tambov Region held a first meeting on the request for the parole of the Krasnodar Ecologist, a member of the Council of the Ecological Watch in the North Caucasus Evgeny Vitishko. For more than a year, Vitishko has been in a penal colony in the Tambov region on charges of corruption of property-a fence, which, presumably, belonged to the governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev.

At this meeting, the court heard representatives of the colony, where Evgeny Vitishko was serving a sentence. The administration of the correctional institution objects to release the ecologist conditionally ahead of schedule: over the year, 7 penalties were imposed in the colony. Among them, as the representatives of the colony specified, for example, that Vitishko gave another prisoner a personal thing, sat on the bed at an unidentified time, kept products in the wrong place and showed negligence when weeding tomatoes. In addition, Vitishko was reprimanded that he informed the media that a massive beating of convicts had occurred in the colony.

Eugene is very confident in herself and in a good mood. pic.twitter.com/mbvuugriie

- Greenpeace Russia (@gp_russia) 31 March 2015

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It was established that in the colony there is a regulation on weeding tomatoes. The court saw a lot in his lifetime, but the regulation on weeding ...

- Greenpeace Russia (@gp_russia) 31 March 2015

Evgeny Vitishko himself insisted that he did not violate the rules. "There were many violations of the Labor Code in the colony, and we adjusted a lot. The colony has changed for the better for the year," the ecologist said in court.

The court also interrogated the psychologist Vladimir Rubashny, who made the conclusion in the case of Yevgeny Vitishko. He described the ecologist from the positive side:

Individual personality characteristics #Vitishko in the context of penitentiary psychology: a harmoniously formed person who is prone to kindness.

- Ecological shift (@ewnc_org) 31 March 2015

Vitishko is inherent in a tendency to law -abiding :) He will not go with weapons and hands nowhere.

- Greenpeace Russia (@gp_russia) 31 March 2015

After the interrogation of Vladimir Rubshny, the court announced a break in the meeting until April 15th. It is expected that on this day the colony officers will be questioned as witnesses and documents are studied, among which, in particular, the regulation of tomatoes will be, in particular.

The case against Evgeny Vitishko and another Krasnodar ecologist, Suren Gazaryan, was instituted in December 2011. A month before, activists of the "ecological shift in the North Caucasus", among which were Vitishko and Gazaryan, conducted an inspection near the village of Dzhubga on the territory of the land plot, which, according to some information, was in the possession of Tkachev. Ecologists protested against the fact that during the construction of the fence there was a red -Book forest. After the promotion, the inscriptions “Sanya - thief!”, “Forest is general” appeared on this fence. Ecologists were detained.

In the summer of 2012, Evgeny Vitishko and Suren Gazaryan were convicted for three years conditionally for damage to the fence . In December 2013, at the request of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the court replaced Evgeny Vitishko a conditional term with a real one in connection with a "systematic violation of the regime". In February 2014, Vitishko, still at large, was arrested for 15 days for allegedly cursing at the bus stop. A few days after this, the decision to replace him with a real term with a conditional one entered into force and the ecologist was sent to the colony-settlement to the Tambov region. Suren Gazaryan was forced to go abroad.

Commercial Complete Evgeny Vitishko for environmental activism, head of movement "In defense of the Khimki forest" Evgenia Chirikov in an interview with Radio Liberty argues about this case and chances of Vitishko at Udo:

- We talked with Zhenya Vitishko about the process on Monday, he called me. Eugene always delights me. This is a man of amazing power of the spirit, an amazing mood. He is always very strong, always very positive, after communicating with Zhenya, I am always inspired. The case he is sitting is the top of injustice. I have a big request (not only, I have, but those 10 thousand people who signed up for the liberation of Zhenya Vitishko) to Judge Losev, who considers the case of parole: "Dear Yuri Alekseevich! I have a big request to you: please be a person, let the letter of the law and be released Zhenya." I understand that Zhenya Vitishko, while he was sitting in the colony of this year, had continuous troubles. Zhenya is a very decent person. He stood up for those unfortunate prisoners who were subjected to, for example, beatings in the colony-settlement No. 2 of the Kirsanovsky district. For this, penalties were applied to him. Now these penalties can be an obstacle to receiving parole. This business is so obviously fabricated against Zhenya, so obvious that such an intelligent, smart, decent, honest person, like Zhenya, needs to be released and rewarded that he so actively fought against the destruction of the nature of the Black Sea region - so that they would not destroy nature under the Olympic objects, under the dacha Tkachev, Putin, Gundyaev and so on. It is clear why he was put. But I would like Zhenya to be free. Not only I have these expectations, people have them in the whole world. Not so long ago, the UN expressed concern that the ecologist Evgeny Vitishko is in custody. Now, when he is sitting in a colony, he periodically calls and says: "You know, this is incredibly, letters from all over the planet come to me: from Holland, America, even from China!" People are outraged all over the world with this lawlessness: a man for the protection of nature was put in a colony.

- Do you think it is profitable to let Evgeny Vitishko in the current political environment?

- It is very difficult for me to judge that it is profitable and unprofitable to the Russian modern government, because the last year it behaves in such a way that it seems that it does everything that the Russian people are unprofitable. If we proceed from her last logic, then the ecologist must be kept in prison, maybe shoot. If we talk about what is beneficial to Russia, and not to the Russian government, it is beneficial for people who protect nature would be free, and not in imprisonment.

- How long have you known Evgenia Vitishko? Tell us about him as a person, as an ecologist.

I am sure that if he fought for nature in some other country, he would be rewarded. He would not be in prison

- I and Zhenya met on the actions we held in Tuapse. In Tuapse, the plant operates right on the Black Sea. Fertilizers are sorted on the territory of this plant. This is a very dangerous business, because even if a little of these fertilizers falls into the water, there will be a real environmental disaster. And on the Black Sea Day ( October 30, 2011 - RS) , when the world was in defense of the Black Sea (everywhere, except Russia), Zhenya and our comrades from Ekovakhta decided to hold an action: to swim to the ship from which fertilizer shipment occurs and deploy a poster in defense of the Black Sea. It was probably the most memorable action in my life, it was very cool, despite the fact that after the action we were able to arrest a 50 -armed police officers armed to the teeth. There are no other problems in the Krasnodar Territory-only to catch ecologists, all other problems have been resolved. I was struck by the reaction of Zhenya. Absolutely calm person, very cheerful, reacted with humor. I was still nervous then, he was not nervous at all. I was then struck by his reaction to what was happening: he was in the presence of the spirit, did not be nervous, I was very encouraging, such a person that at least in intelligence, at least where. I also really remember his lectures on the Black Sea. In general, Zhenya is not an ecologist by education - he is a techie. In Tuapse, his lectures were held, youth came, people of different ages. I remembered how he talked about the Black Sea, with what love, with what knowledge. While he was in the colony, he wrote a small book in the style of Solzhenitsyn’s “Baby” - “Prison Porridge” . Very talented. Lyudmila Ulitskaya appreciated. We posted this book. I am sure that if he fought for nature in some other country, he would be rewarded. He would not be in custody. Probably only in our country it is possible that a person protecting nature is put to prison. This is very disappointing. Zhenya is a person who will remain a real hero for future generations. He is already a hero, for example, for Dutch schoolchildren. Amnesty International prepared the action in defense of Zhenya Vitishko, they told the children in Dutch schools about what he did to protect nature. Eugene now gets huge bags with letters, drawings, poems from these Dutch children. It seems to me that after some time our grandchildren, when they find out what Evgeny Vitishko did to protect the nature of Russia will be proud of them, ”said Evgeny Chirikova.

Evgeny Vitishko since 2005 has been actively involved in public environmental activities in the Tuapse district and in the Krasnodar Territory. In 2012, he took part in the elimination of the consequences of floods in Krymsk, who, according to official figures, had a life of 171 people, criticized the Olympic construction sites in the city of Sochi. In 2013, he was nominated from the Yabloko party to the post of head of the city of Tuapse, but by court a decision was removed from the election.

The ally of Yevgeny Vitishko in the Yabloko party, its leader Sergei Mitrokhin believes that this is a matter - revenge on the ecologist from the leadership of the Krasnodar Territory. Mitrokhin also does not feed the illusions regarding the decision of the Tambov court on the parole of the eco-activist:

So Tkachev straightens out with his political opponents

“This is a political matter, and there is very little chance that Evgeny Vitishko will leave the colony,” says Sergey Mitrokhin . - His stay in the colony is the fulfillment of a political order by the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev, whom Vitishko accused of illegally enclosing the territory on the Black Sea coast under his cottage. This is a personal account. In this way, he takes revenge on Eugene Vitishko for exposing his crimes, capturing land, enclosing access to the shores, etc. So Tkachev straightens out with his political opponents. He is a very influential person, provides an invaluable service to our federal leadership, so all his orders are fulfilled. Earlier there was already an attempt by the General Prosecutor's Office to achieve the release of Vitishko, since he was unlawfully changed the conditional term for the real one. But the court made an engaged decision. Most likely, the same engaged decision will be made in Tambov. The signs are already evident: the petitions are rejected, including mine, about the Udia Vitishko, a number of environmental organizations - “Bellons”, “Greenpeace”. Even the petition of the lawyer Evgeny Vitishko was rejected. Thus, the judicial authorities made it clear that they would not give any parole to Eugene Vitishko. Now he gave the petition himself.

In support of Evgeny Vitishko, human rights organizations have repeatedly been expressed, in particular, the international organization Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. His concern was also expressed in the administration of the UN Human Rights of the Human Rights. The sentence for Evgeny Vitishki is calculated from the moment he replaced the conditional term with the real term, therefore, if the Tambov court refuses him to his parole, the ecologist will have to hold for about one and a half years in the colony.