Top liberal activist imprisoned for criticising corruption
Liberal International, February 23, 2014
A regional court in Russia – the same province in which the Winter Olympics are currently taking place – has rejected the appeal of an activist from LI full member Yabloko, who was found ‘guilty’ of criticising corrupt practices of the regional governor.
his verdict envisages a three-year prison sentence for Evgeny Vitishko, despite the regional court having neglected an order from the Supreme Court to conduct a new examination of the case. Mr Vitishko’s crime: spray painting a fence.
Speaking to LI, Yabloko said: We are “outraged by the cruel sentence against civil activist. This sentence represents another episode in the ongoing wave of reprisals against civil society activists. Governor Alexander Tkachyov has been settling accounts with his opponents, and this looks especially cynical against the background of the Olympics.”
In another episode that has marred the spirit of the Olympics, as well as yet another step backwards for democracy in Russia, YABLOKO is urging the federal authorities to pay attention to the lawlessness and arbitrary rule taking place in the Krasnodar region.
Yabloko has demand that Public Prosecutor General must appeal against these verdicts and a series of one-person pickets will take place in front of the Public Prosecutor General Office today.
The original publication
Posted: February 14th, 2014 under Human Rights, YABLOKO and the International Liberal Family.