The temporarily suspended mayor of Yaroslavl Urlashov and his adviser went on a hunger strike

The temporarily suspended mayor of Yaroslavl, Evgeny Urlashov, and his former adviser Alexey Lopatin, accused in the case of a bribe on an especially large scale, went on a hunger strike in the pre-trial detention center, the defendants' lawyers told Mediazona.

The reasons for this decision differ between Urlashov and Lopatin.

According to lawyer Sergei Golubenkov, who is defending Urlashov, the temporarily suspended mayor of Yaroslavl is on a hunger strike in protest against violations committed during the investigation of the case. Golubenkov notes that Urlashov has no complaints against the FSIN regarding the conditions of detention in the Yaroslavl pre-trial detention center. The former mayor began a hunger strike on the evening of September 8, refusing to eat.

Lopatin began a dry hunger strike that same day. The former adviser to the mayor, according to his lawyer Evgeny Shpits, is on hunger strike due to poor living conditions in the Yaroslavl pre-trial detention center and the negative attitude of the institution’s staff towards Lopatin. Since the evening of September 9, he has been in a punishment cell, where he was placed for three days, until September 12. The reason for this measure was the partial covering of the sleeping area in the cell. The lawyer noted that in the Moscow pre-trial detention center “Matrosskaya Tishina”, where Lopatin was previously held, it was not prohibited to cover sleeping places.

On Monday, September 14, a preliminary hearing will be held in the Kirovsky District Court in the case against Urlashov, Lopatin and former deputy mayor Dmitry Donskov.

According to investigators, Urlashov and his subordinates extorted 18 million rubles from the director of Radostroy LLC in 2012-2013. In July 2013, Andrei Zakharov was detained, who allegedly handed over the bribe to Andrei Zakharov, who acted as intermediaries. Zakharov was sentenced to a year and ten months in prison.

In addition, investigators claim that Urlashov received a bribe from the general director of Construction Company Yardostroy LLC in the amount of 17 million rubles. The mayor received the money for assistance in making the decision to transfer a controlling stake in OJSC City Road Administration to this company, investigators believe.

Evgeny Urlashov was detained in July 2013, shortly after he announced plans to head the list of the Civic Platform party in the elections to the regional Duma. In 2012, Urlashov won the mayoral elections, being elected as an independent candidate.