The decision to arrest Alexander Chestnykh, accused of terrorism, has been appealed
[ad_1]
The defense appealed the decision of the capital’s Basmanny Court, which sent 60-year-old Alexander Chestnykh, a resident of Balashikha near Moscow, to a pre-trial detention center for two months, who, according to investigators, twice – at the end of August and beginning of September this year – set fire to relay cabinets in the area of the Reutov station. According to investigators, the arsonist acted on orders from abroad. In court, the defendant admitted guilt and did not object to his being taken into custody, however, his lawyer still filed an appeal with the Moscow City Court.
As follows from the materials of the criminal case, Alexander Chestnykh was detained after setting fire to transformer booths with relay cabinets twice – on August 28 and September 6. According to investigators, the attacker acted with the goal of “intimidating the population and creating the danger of human death, in order to destabilize the activities of the authorities.”
Law enforcement officers detained the person involved in the case on September 9 at his home. Since the arson was committed not far from the Reutov station, the alleged terrorist was taken to the investigative department of the line department (SO LU) of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Moscow-Kurskaya station, where he was charged under paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (terrorist act).
Already at the first interrogation, Alexander Chestnykh admitted that he had committed the arson of the relay cabinets. At the same time, the detainee said that he acted on the instructions of a certain anonymous person, from whom he received the necessary instructions through the Telegram channel.
Following them, the attacker, as noted in the case, used a wooden stick to bend the edge of a locked metal cabinet door. Then he took it out, wrapped a piece of cloth around the stick, poured a pre-prepared incendiary mixture from a bottle, set the rag on fire and stuck a torch into the opening of the relay cabinet, causing it to catch fire. After waiting a little, Alexander Chestnykh filmed the fire on his phone and sent this video report to his unidentified curator. The arsonist then fled the crime scene.
For each arson, the Russian received a reward of $300 in cryptocurrency.
Soon after the arrest of the arsonist, the investigator petitioned the Basmanny Court of Moscow to place Alexander Chestnykh in custody for two months. Motivating his demand, the representative of the investigation referred to the fact that Chestnykh “committed an act of terrorism, which, according to Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, belongs to the category of especially serious crimes, punishable by imprisonment for a term of over three years.” In addition, he recalled that there is reason to believe that “the accused, while remaining at large, may continue to engage in criminal activity, escape, or obstruct investigative measures in the case.” In this regard, the investigator emphasized, “electing a more lenient preventive measure for Honest would be inappropriate.” The prosecutor supported the investigation’s request.
In turn, the defendant’s lawyer Fyodor Starostin objected to the motion, asking the court to apply a less stringent measure of restraint to the defendant, in particular house arrest. At the same time, the lawyer referred to the fact that his client has permanent registration and has no criminal record, and most importantly, Alexander Chestnykh admitted guilt.
It is interesting that the accused himself did not object to the granting of the request for detention.
As a result, the presiding judge found the investigator’s request justified and granted it, pointing out that Alexander Chestnykh’s involvement in terrorist acts was confirmed not only by his confessions, but also by objective evidence. Thus, when examining the defendant’s cell phone, investigators discovered his correspondence with the unidentified organizer of the terrorist attacks. In conclusion, the judge noted that “he considers it impossible to apply a preventive measure other than detention to a person accused of terrorism.”
As Kommersant learned, lawyer Starostin was dissatisfied with the court’s decision and has already filed an appeal against the arrest with the Moscow City Court. “I will appeal the decision of the Basmanny Court, because I believe that Chestnykh is not a dangerous person,” said the defense lawyer. The lawyer declined to comment further.
[ad_2]
Source link