The Moscow Regional Court has overturned fines imposed on two women activists defending Losiny Ostrov who tried to prevent the construction of a road.

The Moscow Regional Court has overturned the fines imposed on Losiny Ostrov National Park defenders Irina Elagina and Irina Kuriseva in administrative cases of disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). Their lawyer informed OVD-Info of this decision.

The cases have been sent back for reconsideration in the court of first instance. The reasons for this decision are not yet known, as the reasoning part of the ruling has not been announced.

Previously, the Mytishchi City Court (in Mytishchi, a city just north-east of Moscow) fined each of the activists two thousand roubles (about US$22). The same penalty was given to activists Sergey Vorobyov, Mikhail Rogov and Oleg Kapusta—the latter two were unsuccessful in appealing the decisions of the court of first instance.

At the end of July, Losiny Ostrov defenders blocked the road for heavy machinery in order to prevent the construction of the road. “The builders dumped asphalt crumbs right into the soil, which is prohibited by regulations since these are fourth-class hazardous waste,” an acquaintance of the detainees told OVD-Info.

Law enforcement officers forcibly dragged the activists away and detained them. According to the activists, a passer-by who happened to be there was also detained.