Attorney Vitaly Braginets was detained on Monday morning, May 23. The court has found him guilty of disobeying the lawful request of a police officer and sentenced him to administrative detention for 15 days. Braginets was supposed to serve his sentence and go free on the morning of June 7, however, the lawyer is still out of touch. Vitaly is declared a political prisoner.
Sergey Zikratsky has remotely congratulated his former colleague. Below is the text of the congratulation:
"Today my colleague, attorney Vitaly Braginets, celebrates his birthday behind bars.
For those lacking the context, I will tell more. Vitaly is one of those coolest, unconventional and principled attorneys.
While the absolute majority of lawyers went to the investigator to get permission to meet with the client, Vitaly went straight to the pre-trial detention center. He could spend hours proving to the staff of the center that an attorney’s right to meet with a client is provided by law, and therefore does not require the prior consent of the investigator.
While the absolute majority of lawyers handed over their phones to the storage room when visiting the Investigative Committee and the Department of Financial Investigations, Vitaly argued with foam at the mouth that the law grants him the right to use technical means to provide legal assistance to a client.
Vitaly could have gone with the flow, but instead he invested his time, nerves and efforts in making the work of all lawyers more effective.
Vitaly, I am sure that you will pass all the trials that have fallen to you with your head held high."
