In Sri Lanka, a court sentenced Alexander Ignatenko, a zoo employee from Rostov-on-Don, and his friends Artem Ryabov and Nikolai Kilafyan, who were detained in 2020 on charges of illegally collecting and destroying beetles, to fines.

Until March 11, the Russians will have to pay 2.9 million Sri Lankan rupees (about 1.1 million rubles), otherwise they will not be released from the island and taken into custody.

This was reported to RT by the vice-president of the Russian division of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, Ivan Melnikov.

277 episodes

Earlier, RT talked about Russian citizens - an employee of the Rostov Zoo Alexander Ignatenko and his friends Artyom Ryabov and Nikolai Kilafyan, whom the Sri Lankan authorities accused of poaching.  

In February 2020, they flew to rest on the island of Sri Lanka, and one day they were detained by guards at the exit from the national park.

During a search, dead beetles were found in Ignatenko's pocket.

On the same day, tourists were arrested, and then they were charged with 277 episodes of violation of the law - several separate charges for each insect (for the capture, removal without proper permission, the commission of these actions on sacred land, etc.). 

As the lawyers of the detainees explained to RT, there is a system of organized extortion of money from tourists in the country.

According to local laws, a fine is charged for each insect found on a foreigner.

If there is no money - a prison sentence.

Ignatenko himself insisted on his innocence.

According to him, he collected already dead beetles along the roads outside the park and photographed them in order to later use them in scientific publications.

And the criminal case, the Russian claimed, was falsified - the list of allegedly caught insects included beetles that are not rare and are not even found in Sri Lanka

“Our lawyer before the prosecution stated that there are insects in the case that, in principle, are not found on the island.

Not to mention the simple fruit bones that are sold here at every turn.

And everyone can freely buy and eat them.

What are the problems?

He repeatedly stated that everything was falsified, ”Ignatenko said in an interview with RT. 

Health is a concern

The investigation and court proceedings lasted two years.

Immediately after the arrest, the Russians were placed in a prison in the city of Badulla, where they spent several months.

As RT Ignatenko told, in prison they were in a cell with 80 local prisoners, they had to sleep on a concrete floor.

In prison, Ignatenko developed an ulcer due to spicy food, and he ended up in the hospital. 

Later, the Russians were released under the guarantee of local residents under a kind of house arrest - the men were forbidden to leave the island, and all their documents were confiscated.

The men lived in a tiny room with a bunk bed, survived the lockdown and lived on rice and vegetables bought with money sent by relatives from Russia.

As Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, told RT, virtually no investigative actions were taken all this time.  

“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that two years have already passed since the moment of detention, and out of 12 witnesses for the prosecution, most of whom were police officers who were present at the search, only two were questioned,” the human rights activist says.

In addition, he notes that the Russians were actually deprived of the qualified medical care they needed.

As a result, due to fear for their health, they were forced to make a deal with the investigation and admit their guilt. 

“They had to plead guilty because they were in a critical condition.

The state of health causes great concern for both Ignatenko and other guys, ”Melnikov said.

- Nikolai has a comminuted fracture of his leg, Alexander has stomach problems after being in prison.

He needs surgery now.

Artyom is currently also having health problems.”

Melnikov also noted that a fundraiser for Ignatenko, Ryabov and Kilafyan has now been announced on the Internet.

Until March 11, they must pay a fine of 2.9 million Sri Lankan rupees (about 1.1 million rubles).