Sochi court convicts local activists critical of Olympic Games
Posted February 25, 2014 2:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MOSCOW – A Sochi court has convicted two Russian activists for resisting police orders, sentencing one of them to four days in prison and fining the other.
Their lawyer, Alexander Popkov, told The Associated Press by phone on Tuesday that civil rights activist David Khakim will be held in jail until Thursday, while environmentalist Olga Noskovets will receive a 1,000-ruble ($28) fine. The police, who picked up the two activists shortly before the Winter Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, said that Khakim was detained for refusing to show identification to the police.
Rights groups have blamed local authorities for what they describe as a campaign of harassment and intimidation against activists and independent journalists in Sochi who were critical of the preparation for the Winter Games.
