Philip Kostenko in his 10th day of hunger strike

St. Petersburg activist Philip Kostenko, who has been on a hunger strike since December 6th to protest his 15-day jail sentence, was sentenced today to 15 more days in jail.

Philip was initially arrested on December 6th for participating in a peaceful rally against electoral fraud. His first jail term expired yesterday, December 21st. However, instead of being released, he was taken straight to a police station, where he was detained on new charges. The court hearing on those charges was scheduled for today.

Our correspondent reports from the courtroom:

Despite all the efforts of the defense, and despite the very clear testimonies from witnesses in favor of the defendant, Philip was sentenced to 15 more days in jail. This was definitely orchestrated by Center E. The judge was very pushy the entire time. It was obvious that she had made her decision long ago, and having to actually listen to us was merely an annoyance to her.

Earlier today, BBC journalist Nick Sturdee reported:

Philip is being charged with “petty hooliganism” (article 20.1) for allegedly using profane language. The incident happened back in October  when he visited police station #43 to pass a food parcel to the detainees. The police detained Philip without stating a reason, but they ended up not charging him with anything back then. Philip denies the charges. The three police witnesses have testified against him. The judge has now left to make a decision. Philip looks weak and yellow, but mood is ok. Everyone expects more jail time for him, though.

Oleg Vorotnikov comments:

Philip is one of the rare few who never use profane language at all.

Leonid Nikolaev, who also attended the hearing, reports:

The judge was biased. It was obvious from the beginning. Everyone was shocked by the incredibly rude manner in which she conducted the hearing. At one point, a defense attorney pleaded that Philip was unable to participate in the hearing due to poor health (because of his 15-day hunger strike). In response, the judge inquired whether it was the jail personnel who starved him, or if he did it on his own accord. This is a gross violation of the procedure. The judge is only supposed to take into account the defendant’s present condition, not the reasons that caused it. Philip was definitely unfit to participate in court proceedings. He was weak, did not ask questions nor make motions to the court, and when giving his testimony, he could barely stand.

The last witness of the defense was this pleasant, very civilized fellow. He somehow managed to induce rage in the judge even before he had a chance to open his mouth. She was incredibly pushy with him, especially because whenever she demanded something from him, he replied with “all right”. For some reason, she chose to interpret that as though he was making a judgement on whether her demands were right or wrong. The poor fellow almost got thrown out of the courtroom because of this.

I kept looking for a way for Philip to escape. At one point the guards got distracted, so I suggested that he go downstairs, hop on my bike and get out of there. Turned out he was too weak for that. Damn hunger strike.

When the judge left the room after announcing her decision, the public started expressing its outrage out loud. Suddenly the judge barged back in and commanded the court guards to “write them up”. The guards grabbed a frail girl, activist of the Parents of St. Petersburg movement, and took her away. They are writing her up right now, and chances are she will be in jail with Philip before the end of the day.

The arrested girl is Leda Garina, a film director and a friend of Philip. She is reported to have been released after being fined 1000 RUB (30 USD).

Publications:

http://chtodelat.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/petersburg-law-enforcement-continue-to-persecute-activist-filipp-kostenko/