The Kirov court changed the verdict to Navalny and Ofitserov from real to a suspended sentence
The Kirov Regional Court, having considered the complaints of Alexei Navalny and Peter Ofitserov, decided to change their sentence in the case of embezzlement (embezzlement) of Kirovles property from real to a suspended sentence. On July 18, the oppositionist was sentenced to five years in a penal colony, the second defendant was one year less.
Immediately after the announcement of the new verdict, Navalny told reporters who were present in the hall that he considered it unfair and would also appeal. The defendants sought the abolition of the sentence and full justification.
And in a telephone interview with Dozhd, the oppositionist stated that he would continue to engage in political activities: “Do you really think that such nonsense will stop?”. But there is nothing special to celebrate, he added, “since I’m still considered convicted.”
Kommersant.ru quotes a part of Navalny’s speech to journalists: “This does not cancel the political struggle, they will not be able to intimidate me or colleagues. We have demonstrated that we can have a sufficient influence on power. We need to continue to achieve the release of those who continue to sit in prisons for political affairs, in particular for the “swamp case.” Thanks to everyone for their support. Now they will assume that if the fake criminal case ends with a suspended sentence, we should be grateful for it and forget it. ”
Implemented one of four scenarios. Bulk did not become "new Mandela"
As a result, one of four scenarios that were legally possible was realized, but not the one that, according to some sources, would be the most optimal for the authorities. The planned amnesty on the occasion of the jubilee of the Constitution of the Russian Federation was meant. Some observers believed that the court could delay the consideration of the appeal so that Navalny came under amnesty before the sentence came into force. Then the Kremlin and the Investigation Committee would save face, and the opposition would not turn into a "new Nelson Mandela."
At the same time, many experts were waiting for the very decision that the Kirov court made. "Most likely, the decision should be about a suspended sentence. If Navalny is again jailed, this time for a long time, it will be an international scandal - the emergence of a figure of a political prisoner, as in the worst regimes of Asia or Africa. Therefore, all the same, the authorities are not interested in landing Navalny, ”political analyst Pavel Svyatenkov told Kommersant FM earlier on Wednesday.
The court rejected the defense motion. Bulk: "We must somehow deal with their own naivety"
Earlier on Wednesday, the court rejected the petitions of lawyers, finding them not to be satisfied. The defense of Navalny filed several at once, including the appointment of a forensic accounting, financial and economic, merchandising expertise in the case and the summoning of witnesses, “about ten people,” quotes Interfax lawyer Sergey Kobelev. The defense also expressed a desire to talk with experts who had already conducted an examination, since the reasoning part does not coincide with their conclusions.
Motivating the refusal, the court stated that there is no need to clarify anything further, and disagreement with the experts' conclusions is not a reason to interrogate them or conduct new examinations, the RAPS agency reports, which conducts a text translation.
Navalny, who managed to send rare comments on Twitter, wrote: "Davydova lost the dispute: the court again refused to conduct examinations. We must somehow deal with our own naivety." (Svetlana Davydova - Ofitserov's lawyer. - Approx. NEWSru.com)
Also, the oppositionist posted in his microblog a comment by user MaryEl @maryel2002: "All petitions that can be satisfied are claimed in Russia at Manezhka." Recall, after the verdict of Navalny in the evening of the same day and the next morning, his numerous supporters came out to the State Duma in Moscow in protest.
How were the hearings: "In the dock - justice and the faith of people in it"
According to the RAPSI, the complaint against the verdict was prepared very thoroughly: every point, every previously rejected petition was disputed.
A lawyer, Oksana Mikhailova, speaking at the meeting, drew attention to the fact that part of the sentence repeated the indictment, and listing procedural violations, indicated that the wiretapping materials (Navalny’s telephone conversations with the Officers, which, in the opinion of the defense, were unlawfully included in the evidence of the investigation. - Note NEWSru.com) were not destroyed after six months, in violation of the law.
Alexey Navalny, taking the floor after his lawyers, reiterated the political background of the sentence, recalled how he had been unprecedentedly released from the SIZO the next morning on the proposal of the prosecutor's office, and expressed conviction that this only confirms the political motivation of the case.
Pyotr Ofitserov, waiting for his turn, said that the whole court and the sentence was built on the principle of "and it will do," and the prosecution witnesses testified in favor of the defendants, reports Novaya Gazeta in its own online broadcast.
Then the floor was given to the prosecution, and the prosecutor's office asked for the sentence to be upheld, reports RIA "News".
The court then retired to the deliberation room, and upon returning, announced the decision to refuse protection to the petitions. At this stage of the judicial investigation is over and the parties proceeded to the debate, where they have already confirmed their positions more briefly. Navalny, however, said that he saw no point in participating in the debate: "I see no reason to speak in the debate after rejecting the petitions, I do not understand what else you will explore." The officers again asked to cancel the sentence and justify themselves and Navalny.
The state prosecution stated that “the court’s findings are fully supported by evidence,” Kommersant.ru reports. It also considered the refusal of economic examinations to be justified, since the existing accounting is quite enough.
Then the bailiffs took the case volumes to the deliberation room, and the defendants were given the last word. Navalny reacted to this with irony: “It is supposed that the last word is a certain dramatic moment in life. However, only in the city of Kirov I say the third last word,” he noted. And in the same tone, he suggested that everyone would throw out the paper, shout “Surprise!”, And the judges would turn on the sparklers.
However, the oppositionist immediately changed the joking tone to a serious one: “There are already so many deeds against me that I have to say many last words.” Thanking his supporters for their support, he gave the floor to Peter Ofitserov.
The second person involved was brief: he said that he had come to court with a bag, that his child had gone to the first class, and then declared: “Alexey and I aren’t in the dock today but people and others. Justice and faith of people in him . That's all I wanted to say".
On the eve of an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, Alexei Navalny also said that he was going to Kirov with things, "because if all of a sudden ends one day, I would not want to be in jail without food and things." He said that he was not counting on justification at all, and then added: “There are no guarantees for“ Kirovles ”. I don’t predict anything here, this is stupid."
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