11 August 2022, 14:29
Volgograd activist claims violation of his right to defence in court
The Volgograd Regional Court has dismissed the complaint lodged by Evgeny Kochegin, an activist, who is suspected of disseminating deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian Army. Kochegin complained that his advocated was not let to the case materials, and that investigators were deliberately protracting with the familiarization of his defence with the case files.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in May a Volgograd court ruled to arrest Evgeny Kochegin in absentia. He is on the wanted list, a court official has explained. Evgeny himself treats the criminal case against him as a revenge for his social and political activities.
Evgeny Kochegin is a former coordinator of the Volgograd office of the oppositional leader, Alexei Navalny*. The office had stopped working even before the court's ruling to treat all Navalny's offices* as extremist organizations. Before the elections to the State Duma, Kochegin created a socio-political movement.
"I am deprived of the right to a normal defence; my advocate is prevented from studying the case materials for far-fetched reasons," the "Kavkaz.Realii"** quotes the activist as stating.
Let us remind you that earlier Evgeny Kochegin was persecuted for his political activities. Thus, a case was opened against him for distributing the song "Kill the Beggars!" by the "Porn Movies" group in social networks. In February 2022, a court in Volgograd cancelled the decision to treat the song as extremist one.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 11, 2022 at 03:32 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
