The oppositionist was not allowed to speak - Picture of the Day - Kommersant

The oppositionist was not allowed to speak - Picture of the Day - Kommersant



The Meshchansky Court of Moscow on Wednesday did not begin to consider on the merits the criminal case of the former head of the Krasnoselsky district of the capital, Ilya Yashin (included in the register of foreign agents), accused of spreading fakes about the Russian army. During the meeting, the court managed to consider only the petitions of the parties and extend the arrest of the oppositionist until May 10, 2023. Communication with Mr. Yashin was difficult: for exchanging remarks with him, the audience was removed from the hall, and the politician’s father was even thrown to the floor, twisting his hands.

The investigation into the case of Ilya Yashin lasted almost five months. Recall that he was detained on July 12 at the exit from the detention center, where he was placed for 15 days for disobedience to the police (he himself denied the fact of violation). In the final version, the politician was charged in early October, accusing him of disseminating fakes about the armed forces of the Russian Federation based on political hatred (clause “d” part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, up to ten years in prison).

As previously reported by "Kommersant", the reason for initiating the case was a video posted on the YouTube channel of the oppositionist on April 7, in which he comments on the news about the murder of residents of the Ukrainian Bucha. During the broadcast, Mr. Yashin showed a video filmed by journalists after the Russian military left Bucha, without sound accompaniment, and then read out the comments of representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides and analyzed them.

The indictment, excerpts from which were published by the politician's team, says that, judging by the video, its author "denies the clear need to ensure the security" of the country "from external threats" and "suppression of violations of the rights of citizens of the DPR and LPR."

Because Ilya Yashin "is a public figure," his statements "arise heightened interest" and his personal statements are perceived by supporters "as credible," the document says.

At the court session on November 23, the defense of Mr. Yashin first of all petitioned for his release from the Butyrka pre-trial detention center, where he has been since mid-summer, on bail of 5.1 million rubles. (an amount exceeding the maximum bail under the article imputed to him) - in response to the prosecutor's office's demand to extend the arrest for another six months.

The supervisory authority substantiated the need for detention by the fact that the oppositionist had a share of real estate in unfriendly Bulgaria.

His lawyer, Maria Eismont, retorted that this was the first time the prosecution was using the overseas real estate argument in court, and assured that her client did not intend to hide. Ms. Eismont recalled that before the arrest, the politician received two administrative protocols for discrediting the army and could be held liable at any time under a similar criminal article, but nevertheless repeatedly stated that he did not intend to leave Russia, and proved this when returning from foreign trips. Another lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, added that Ilya Yashin had not been in Bulgaria for several years.

The oppositionist himself said that he had many opportunities to “escape”, but did not do this, because he is a “patriot of Russia”.

When the judge retired to make a decision on the petitions, the defendant, who was in the "cage", was approached by the ex-deputy of the Timiryazevsky district of Moscow, Yulia Galyamina (included in the register of foreign agents), but her attempt to talk with her colleague caused displeasure of the bailiffs, who demanded that she leave the hall. Outraged, Mrs. Galyamina complained that she did not know about the ban on talking with the defendant, especially since before that he had freely exchanged remarks with listeners who had come to support him. Then the bailiffs took all the listeners out of the hall, but when they returned after the end of the break, their conversations with Ilya Yashin resumed. This time, the bailiffs reacted more harshly: at first they demanded that the politician stop talking with his mother, and after the end of the meeting, they twisted his hands and threw his father to the floor for the same “violation”.

Returning to the hall, the judge announced her decision to keep the oppositionist under arrest for another six months, until May 10, 2023. However, the expected consideration of the case on the merits did not follow: both the prosecution and the defense opposed this, explaining their petitions by the fact that Ilya Yashin was not ready to start the process. And although he himself did not want to “delay” the consideration, the court nevertheless adjourned the meeting until November 29.

After that, the oppositionist’s assistants reported on his social networks that the lawyers, in particular, intend to petition for the interrogation of the lieutenant colonel of the Center “E”, who compiled a report on the politician, which became the starting point for initiating a case, and a linguist from the prosecution, who, according to Mr. Yashin , "expertly confirmed" his guilt.

Kira Heifetz



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