Criminal prosecution of the leaders of the “Environmental Watch in the North Caucasus” has been stopped

The criminal prosecution of the leaders of the "Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus" Andrey Rudomakha and Dmitry Shevchenko was discontinued for lack of involvement. This was reported to OVD-Info by the lawyer of the International Human Rights Group "Agora" Alexander Popkov.

He noted that the case itself was not stopped - it will be suspended due to the absence of persons to be held accountable. According to Popkov, the case was dismissed due to procedural difficulties and because it would be difficult to prove the environmentalists' guilt.

A criminal case against Rudomakha and Shevchenko was opened in September 2016. They were suspected of libel (Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code) against the former vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Remezkov, who became a State Duma deputy from the Tyumen Region. The activists claimed that Remezkov had dachas in the Krasnodar Territory.

In November, the case was sent for review due to violations during searches.