A group of activists visited a site where illegal logging activities were taking place in a protected area of the Khimki forest , to build an highway which will cut the precious forest. The aim of the visit was to ask the loggers for cutting permissions and official documents. After a short discussion, a bulk of riot police and private security forces detained and beat up some of the peaceful activists.

The conflict on the Khimki forest iorest is at a new peak after a couple of days ago illegal logging activities in the disputed area have been discovered. This story goes far beyond forest protection, it's about crimes against civil society and human rights violations, arbitrariness and corruption of officials (administration and police): Interaction between authorities and civil society have been accompanied by massive attacks on life and health of civil society activists, intimidation and threatening of children's life (see photo and video).

Last July the environmentalist camp was attacked by environmentalists assault by masked men. The Police, called by the environmentalists did not intervene, but later arrested seven environmental activists and two journalists. In early August, the protest leader, Yevgenia Chirikova, was arbitrarily arrested.
The project is planned as the first large-scale public-private partnership with the involvement of western investors - the EBRD and European Investment Bank. The intermediary link will be the North-West Investment Company, backed by the French firms Vinci and Eurovia. The project is managed by company, Avtodor, which combines the functions of a government agency and a business.

The use of forestry lands (which is against the law) is planned in order to avoid t avoid property disputes with landowners and expensive facilities such as tunnel and flyovers.

After months of protests, Greenpeace and the Russian WWF appealed to the European Green Party to drop EU participation in the project, if the scheme for the motorway to go round Khimki Forest Park is not selected, and the European Green Party, the European Parliament passed a resolution warning European investors that participation in the project would be unacceptable. Bankwatch, which monitors observance of the law in the investment activities of EU banks, began to keep close track of developments, and even the French Senate became warned the Vinci about the project.

The story of the fight for protection of Khimki forest is at a new peak after a couple of days ago illegal logging activities in the disputed area have been discovered. This story goes far beyond forest protection, it's about crimes against civil society and human rights violations, arbitrariness and corruption of officials, administration and police: interaction between authorities and civil society have been accompanied by massive attacks on life and health of civil society activists, intimidation, threatening of activists' children.

Khimki Forest Park is unique eco-system in the area of Moscow with centuries-old oak forests, elks, boars and many species of birds. The planned Moscow-St. Petersburg motorway. This is scheduled to divide the Khimki Forest Park in half in the section from the Moscow ring road to Sheremetevo airport. The project is planned as the first large-scale public-private partnership with the involvement of western investors - the EBRD and European Investment Bank. The intermediary link will be the North-West Investment Company, backed by the French firms Vinci and Eurovia. The project is managed by company, Avtodor, which combines the functions of a government agency and a business.

For more details, see the article written by Yevgenia Chirikova, of Ecodefense
Update oni http://forestforum.ru/

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