IOC assured activist was not jailed for his criticism of construction at Sochi Olympics

SOCHI, Russia – The International Olympic Committee says it’s has been assured that a Russian activist’s three-year prison sentence was not related to his criticism of the environmental impact of Olympic construction in Sochi.

The IOC had asked for clarification after Yevgeny Vitishko was sentenced earlier this week for spray-painting a fence on a property in a forest where construction is banned. Vitishko had been critical of the Olympic construction projects in Sochi and Human Rights Watch urged the IOC to press Russian authorities to free him.

But Adams says Russian authorities assured the IOC that Vitishko’s punishment was “not games-related.” Adams says the IOC has been told that Vitishko was given a suspended sentence for vandalizing a house three years ago and that suspension was broken when Vitishko spray-painted the fence.