Suren Gazaryan

Suren Gazaryan is an environmental activist from the Krasnodar region in the south of Russia, and a member of Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus. He is known for his work against illegal deforestation and construction of buildings in the Sochi National Park for the 2014 Olympic Games, and has been arrested on previous occasions during peaceful protests. The human rights defender was forced to go into hiding in August 2012 after a criminal case linked to his human rights work was opened against him.