Jailed Russian environmental activist on hunger strike
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 October 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jailed Russian environmental activist on hunger strike, 6 October 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56813c2e11.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
October 06, 2015
Environmental activist Yevgeny Vitishko
Imprisoned Russian environmental activist Yevgeny Vitishko has started a hunger strike.
Vitishko's lawyer, Sergei Loktev, said on October 6 that his client had been drinking only water since September 29 in demand for an early release from his prison term.
On September 29, a court in the Tambov region had again rejected Vitishko's request to be released.
Vitishko was jailed after raising concerns about the environmental impact of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
He was handed a three-year suspended sentence in 2012 for spray-painting a fence in a forest near Sochi to protest what he said was illegal construction.
In December 2013, a court ruled that he had violated the terms of his sentence and sent him to prison.
Amnesty International has urged Russian authorities to immediately release Vitishko after he began another hunger strike in April.
Amnesty has named Vitishko a "prisoner of conscience" and the prominent Moscow-based human rights group Memorial considers him a political prisoner.
Based on reporting by rapsinews.ru and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website