Cassation court refuses to consider complaint filed by Orlov’s defence

The Moscow City Court had not commit any significant violations when considering an appeal against the sentence of human rights defender Oleg Orlov under the article on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and lawfully returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction concluded. The cassation court has refused to consider the complaint filed by the Oleg Orlov’s defence.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 14, in Moscow, a court considered an appeal filed against the verdict to Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights. A public prosecutor stated that Oleg Orlov motive was not indicated in the case materials and requested the court to cancel the verdict and return the case to the prosecutor’s office. The court cancelled the verdict. On December 27, it became known that the case had been returned to investigator. He reported appointing a new examination of the article, which became the reason for accusing Oleg Orlov of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.

The Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction refused to consider the complaint filed by the defence in the Oleg Orlov’s case. The advocate has challenged the decision of the Moscow City Court, which cancelled the verdict in the form of a fine and returned the case to the prosecutor’s office. However, the cassation court considered that the Moscow City Court did not commit any “significant violations,” the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights reported.

“The court agreed that the indictment did not reflect sufficient information about the Oleg Orlov’s motive in ‘discrediting’ the Russian Armed Forces,” noted Natalia Sekretaryova, the head of the legal department of the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights.