MOSCOW, June 16 (RAPSI) - Ukrainian officials refer to the Bolotnaya Square riot case in response to any request for the release of Russian student Maria Koleda, detained on suspicion of being involved in destabilizing the situation in the Donbass Region, lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky said at a news conference this Monday.
Ukraine claims that “in Russia, activists are basically arrested without cause,” and this is their explanation for Koleda’s arrest, Agranovsky said.
Agranovsky believes the May 6, 2012 Bolotnaya Square riot case is being used abroad to discredit Russia.
“Currently, there are no updates on Russian television. Unfortunately, the foreign media are very interested in this case and use it to compromise Russia,” the lawyer representing several defendants in the European Court for Human Rights said.
“It’s hard to request the release of political prisoners in Ukraine in view of the riot case in Russia itself,” Agranovsky says.
As reported, Koleda was arrested for allegedly being involved in destabilizing the situation in the Donbass Region, which has been ripped by clashes between the Kiev government and local militia for the past two months.