Sochi-Bound Activist Jailed For Public Swearing

An environmental activist planning to present a report on Sochi's environmental impact, was taken into custody at a bus station and ordered jailed for 15 days, according to his lawyer. His crime? Swearing in public.

Yevgeny Vitishko was booked on a charge of hooliganism, after unnamed witnesses supposedly said he was cursing at a bus stop. (Vitishko denied he was even at a bus stop, and his requests for prosecutors to produce witnesses were denied.) The law is on the books, but is only ever enforced when convenient to the authorities.

It's totally just a coincidence that Vitishko had formally applied for permission to enter Sochi, and was arrested just as he preparing to leave the town of Tuapse. It's surely unrelated that Vitishko was scheduled to present a report detailing the adverse environmental impact of the Winter Olympics on the Sochi area. And it's just plain bad luck that Vitishko will now be forced to miss a court date to defend himself on a suspended sentence for a previous protest, and will likely have to serve three years jail time.

[ AP]