Press Release, 18.06.2014

The activists of Moscow Youth YABLOKO conducted one-person picketing in support of the Bolotnaya Square rally case prisoners outside the Moscow City Court. The action was conducted on the threashold of the court hearings of the appeal on the “first wave” of the Bolotanaya rally case. Youth YABLOKO activists from the Krasnodar Territory, Nizhni Novgorod, North Ossetia, the Stavropol Territory, Ekaterinburg also conducted a series of one-person pickets on that day.

The activists held a placard “Only public support can defend the innocent. Freedom to Bolotnaya rally prisoners!”

The protesters said they had no hope for absolutory sentence. “Once again Youth YABLOKO claim that the case is politically motivated and doesn’t comply with the law,” said ex-prisoner of the Bolotnaya rally case Nikolai Kavkazsky.

“I hope that at least the prison terms will be cut. If the court hearings were held according to the law, the prisoners would be released tomorrow. But unfortunately there is no hope for that,” he said,

The Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow sentenced the eight prisoners of the Bolotnaya case to prison terms from 3 years and 3 months on probation to 4 years in colony. Barabanov – 3 years and 7 months (since May 28, 2012), Byelousov – 2 years and 6 months (since July 9, 2012), Dukhanina – 3 years of probation, Zimin – 3 years and 6 months (since June 8, 2012), Krivov – 4 years (since October 18, 2012), Lutskevich – 3 years 6 months (since July 9, 2012), Polikhovich – 3 years 6 months (since June 26, 2012), Savelov – 2 years and 7 months (since June 11, 2012).

Last week Youth YABLOKO filed an appeal to Prosecutor General’s Office and Moscow Prosecutor’s Office demanding to withdraw charges against the Bolotnaya prisoners.