| Yekaterinburg City Duma deputy Maxim Petlin arrested |
| Scritto da Vladimir Bukowskij |
| Giovedì 13 Ottobre 2011 09:02 |
|
In February 2011, the authorities have started a criminal case against him for 'extortion of a bribe'. Petlin had been involved in an environmental campaign against a controversial construction project, which would see an ancient forest near Yekaterinburg destroyed. The allegation is that the campaign has been a way of extorting 3 million roubles from the construction company. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison. Initially released on bail, Petlin continued his protests, which has been alleged to be his way of putting pressure on witnesses. A video has been released where some masked man, alleged to be Petlin's agent, is threatening the director of the construction company with a gun. On these grounds, Petlin has been placed in pre-trial detention since late August. He is sharing a 9 sq. m. cell with four other prisoners, sleeping only in turns. The case has been condemned as a political fabrication by all major opposition and human rights groups in Russia (Solidarity, Yabloko, For Human Rights, etc.). The arrest of Petlin has been accompanied by a wider campaign of persecution against the opposition in Yekaterinburg. A criminal libel case has been started against police whistleblower Igor Konygin and 'Strategy 31' coordinator Yevgeny Legedin. Legedin and another human rights campaigner, Sergei Kuznetsov, have been forced to flee the country. Former political prisoner Alexei Sokolov, previously released on parole, has been threatened with being re-arrested. It is feared that the 'purge' of Yekaterinburg may be a prelude to a wide-scale campaign of persecution against opposition activists and groups all over Russia. Petlin Support Committee is chaired by Yevgeny Legedin - Questo indirizzo e-mail è protetto dallo spam bot. Abilita Javascript per vederlo. , +44 777 982 6807 
|
Maksim Petlin is a member of Yekaterinburg's city Duma, regional leader of the democratic Yabloko Party, and Yekaterinburg's co-ordinator of national 'Strategy 31' campaign of by-monthly street protests in defence of freedom of assembly guaranteed by Russian constitution.