In Moscow, 17 persons picket in support of ecologist Vitishko

The picket, which was sanctioned by the authorities, in support of the convicted Krasnodar ecologist Evgeny Vitishko, held near the monument to Vladimir Vysotsky in Moscow, was attended by nine people, while eight other persons held solo pickets at the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Russia, said the organizers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Evgeny Vitishko was accused of damaging the fence around the territory known as "summer cottage" of Alexander Tkachov, the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory. On June 20, 2012, the ecologist was sentenced to three years of conditional imprisonment, but in December 2013 the above District Court replaced the conditional by real imprisonment and sent Vitishko to a settlement-colony in the Tambov Region, where he is serving his term.

"Today, we are holding an international solidarity action with Evgeny Vitishko. People in different places of the planet come out in defence of Evgeny: in Moldova, Ukraine, Sweden, Spain, the United States and other countries; in Russian cities of Krasnodar, Kazan, Samara, Saint Petersburg – it's hard to list all of them," said Evgenia Chirikova, a participant of the picket near the monument and the leader of the "Ekooborona" Movement.

Besides, today, activists have sent an appeal to Yuri Chaika, the Prosecutor General of Russia, demanding to "release Evgeny Vitishko, bring to justice those responsible for his illegal persecution and check the existence of the fence around the so-called summer residence of Tkachov, the Governor of the KrasnodarTerritory, for the damage of which Vitishko was convicted."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.