Kuban pensioners have achieved the return of the case to the district court

The Krasnodar Regional Court granted the appeal of pensioners accused of creating an illegal armed group to transfer their case to a military court and returned the case to the court of first instance. The defendants' relatives called this decision a victory, and the defense intends to seek the return of the case to the prosecutor.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, pensioners Nikolai Nabiyev, Sergei Kuzovenko, and Marina Zakharova, accused of creating an illegal armed group, complained of health problems in the pretrial detention center. Relatives said that they learn about their condition from lawyers, and the accused are not allowed to meet with their relatives. According to a witness, the defendants were involved in public activities, and were unfoundedly accused of creating an illegal armed group. In April, the prosecutor requested 11 to 12.5 years of imprisonment for the defendants. The defendants refused to admit guilt. On June 6, the Uspensky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory did not issue a verdict and transferred the case to the Southern District Military Court. Kuzovenko and Zakharova appealed this decision.

On August 6, the Krasnodar Regional Court granted the complaint of the Kuban pensioners to transfer their case on the creation of an illegal armed group to a military court. "In a week, the case of Zakharova, Kuzovenko and Nabiyev will be sent to the court of first instance along with the appellate ruling of the regional court for consideration on the merits from the very beginning," a representative of the regional court office told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The defense and relatives of the victims confirmed the decision and said that they were satisfied with the result, which they had hoped for.

"We are worried about our relatives and keep in touch with each other. After all, all three are old and have serious health problems. The terrible article they are charged with does not correspond at all not only to their mentality, but also to their peace-loving nature and the way of life they led. Just because someone decided to concoct a case against a socially vulnerable group of elderly people and get epaulettes for it, our relatives have been dragged through courts, prisons and simply exhausted mentally and physically for the third year already. I know that they are all very tired and are very upset by the injustice towards themselves," one of the defendants' relatives told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She thanked the regional court judge, "who looked into it and did not confirm the absurd motivation of the court of first instance" that the crime committed by the elderly people was "for the purpose of propaganda, justification and support of terrorism." "None of our relatives have previously been accused of propaganda of terrorism under Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," she said.

In her opinion, the attempt to redirect the case to a military court shows that none of the judges wants to take responsibility for passing a knowingly illegal sentence, which is a criminal offense act.

Unrelated to the case, lawyer Nikolay Romanov confirmed that "according to Article 305 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Issuing a knowingly unjust sentence, decision or other judicial act" judges are subject to liability from 3 to 10 years of imprisonment."

According to the defendants' lawyers, after receiving the case from the Uspensky District Court and scheduling it for hearing, they intend to file motions to transfer the case to the prosecutor. "According to Article 237 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, "Returning a Criminal Case to the Prosecutor," the prosecutor will be required to: eliminate the violations indicated by the court; if necessary, send the case for additional investigation to the investigator or inquiry officer (Part 3 of Article 221 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation); or change the charges; or terminate the criminal case if there are no grounds for charges. After eliminating the violations, the prosecutor: approves a new indictment; sends the case back to the court. As for the deadlines, the prosecutor must eliminate the violations within a reasonable time. If the violations cannot be eliminated (for example, there is no evidence), the case may be terminated," one of the defense attorneys told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Relatives of the elderly defendants who came to support their loved ones in the regional court said that, as they were informed by their lawyers, the appeal hearing was scheduled for August 4, but the judge only announced the decision today. The hearing, according to them, lasted no more than 15 minutes, they were not allowed into the court building, and their relatives were not brought. They took part in the proceedings on August 4 and 6 via videoconference. All of them are concerned about the health of their elderly relatives. “It is a great physical and psychological trauma to sit without having committed anything criminal and be persecuted by the judicial and investigative system for three years, with the prospect of being sentenced to life imprisonment,” said one of the relatives.

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