Guarantors were found: Russians accused of illegal capture of insects were released from prison in Sri Lanka

The Russians Artyom Ryabov and Nikolai Kilafyan, detained in Sri Lanka on suspicion of illegal capture of rare insects, were released from prison during the trial.

This was reported to RT by their lawyer Georgy Sukhov. According to him, on July 2, the magistrate court changed the preventive measure for the accused from custody to surety.

Local businessmen vouched

Earlier, RT spoke about the citizens of Russia: Alexander Ignatenko, an employee of the Rostov Zoo, and his friends Artyom Ryabov and Nikolay Kilafyan, whom Sri Lankan authorities accuse of poaching.  

In February of this year, they rested in Sri Lanka, and one day at the exit from the national park they were detained by security guards. During a search of Ignatenko’s dead bugs were found in his pocket. The Russians were accused of illegal capture of local insects and arrested.

According to the men, they were held for several weeks in a prison cell, where about 80 prisoners suspected of serious crimes slept on the floor: drug trafficking, murder, rape.

In April, the Russians were temporarily released from custody due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus in prisons.

And on June 25, the two accused - Artyom Ryabov and Nikolai Kilafyan - were again detained. Ignatenko is seriously ill and is now in a local hospital. 

As the lawyer of the detainees, Georgy Sukhov, explained, the Russians would have the opportunity to remain at large until the decision of the court if one of the local residents agreed to become their guarantor. According to the law, in case the suspects do not appear in court, the guarantors must pay a fine of 500 thousand rupees (more than 180 thousand rubles).

However, on July 2, guarantors were still found. Local businessmen responded to the call of lawyers and the Russian embassy in Colombo.

“These are local entrepreneurs who do business with Russia. They agreed to sign sureties for Ryabov and Kilafyan, ”the lawyer explained to RT.

In addition, the Russian consul, who was present at the court hearing on July 2, announced to the local authorities a note of protest in connection with the arrest of the Russians and the systematic violation of their rights.

The next court hearing will be held on July 23. Russians face up to 40 years in prison or a heavy fine (more than 2 million rubles).

Attorney Sukhov believes that if the court finds his defendants guilty, he will prefer to fine them.

“Local residents are usually sent to prison for such crimes, and foreign citizens are required to pay fines. There is a system of organized extortion of money from tourists in the country. According to local laws, a fine is charged on each insect found. Since the Russians allegedly found 277 dead bugs, the fine increased to $ 30 thousand, ”the lawyer explains.

Doubtful list of insects

Meanwhile, the third detained Russian Alexander Ignatenko is now in the hospital. Due to prolonged detention in prison, where Ignatenko was given spicy food, he developed an esophageal ulcer. In addition, he said, local law enforcement officers seized his preventive drugs for ulcers and chronic urticaria during his arrest.

In addition, during the arrest and investigation, according to Ignatenko, the rights of the Russians were grossly violated: for example, they still have not been provided with a translator, and at the beginning of the investigation - a free lawyer.

The Russians themselves deny their guilt. Ignatenko claims that he was already collecting dead bugs along the roads outside the park and photographed them. He planned to use the photographs in scientific publications.

The lawyer of the Russians notes that during the searches, law enforcement officers did not draw up a single protocol, so there is no evidence of how many insects were actually seized.

The prosecution has a list of allegedly captured insects. The defense showed him to specialists of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

“Scientists told us that this list is not compiled correctly: some of the insects are not rare or endemic to Sri Lanka, others indicate the genera, not the species, and it’s impossible to determine by genus whether the insects are red-listed or not,” summed up George Sukhov.