Court allows public defender to represent interests of ecologist Vitishko

The Kirsanov District Court of the Tambov Region has granted a petition on appointing Elena Shmakova, an ecological activist from the city of Tuapse, a public defender Evgeny Vitishko. The consideration of the petition lodged by the advocate Sergey Loktev on softening the Vitishko's punishment has been rescheduled for July 31.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in June 2012 Vitishko was sentenced to three years of conditional imprisonment for damaging to the fence around the territory, known as the "dacha" (summer cottage) of Alexander Tkachov, the then Governor of the Krasnodar Territory. In December 2013, the court changed his conditional imprisonment for real one.

On July 10, the Kirsanov District Court was to consider the petition for Vitishko's leniency, lodged by his advocate, who pointed out in the petition that the ecologist needed no further serving his term in the colony. However, the court decided to consider the petition on July 31, the website of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch) reports.

According to the EcoWatch, the session under the chairmanship of Judge Sergey Burchevskiy passed "in a qualitatively different way than all previous sessions on Vitishko's case, which gives a slight hope that the petition will be satisfied."

At the session, representatives of the colony characterized Vitishko as a contact, good-natured and tactful person, in spite of his 8 reprimands.

Andrei Rudomakha, the coordinator of the "EcoWatch" has noted that the circumstances "give reason to hope for a favourable outcome."

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