"Maxim Petlin can be considered a political prisoner,"
YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin commented on the sentence
to Maxim Petlin, leader of the Sverdlovsk Region branch of
YABLOKO and deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma.
"We believe that the sentence is based on a case fabricated
by the investigators with gross procedural violations. Petlins
activities targeted at exposing corruption launched his prosecution,"
said Mitrokhin.
According to Mitrokhin, the court acts "in the interest
of the clans controlling the city and influencing not only
on the city, but also the regional Federal Security Service
departments, the prosecutor's office and the court".
"We are definitely going to appeal against this decision,"
said YABLOKO leader.
According to Sergei Kolosovsky, Petlins lawyer, at sentencing,
multiple violations, both formal and those referring to the
essence of the case, were made by the court.
"From a formal point of view, all the indictments (that
submitted by the investigation and that presented in court)
failed to clearly state when the crime was committed and what
it was. This is due to the fact that there was no crime in
reality. We have been pointing it out: there was not crime
in Petlins actions," Kolosovsky said.
The court "mechanically copied the indictment without
giving any assessment to the evidence of the defence or even
to the circumstances established in the court."
"It has been objectively established that the talks began
on February 2 at the initiative of the Forum Group. No one
has ever said in the court room that Petlin planned a crime.
Nevertheless, the court indicated in the indictment that Petlin
had developed a criminal plan and began its implementation
on January 20," Kolosovsky added.
Another obvious violation is publication of the results of
the court hearings on the threashold of actual announcement
of the verdict.
According to Kolosovsky, "The results of the hearing
of the case was distributed by the press service of the Sverdlovsk
Court yesterday. This is a violation of the "jury room
secrecy".
Another violation is the lack of the courts assessment of
the evidence from the defence.
YABLOKO members say that obviously prosecution of Maxim Petlin
is related to his political activities, as it was on Petlins
inquiry that a criminal case against Yekaterinburg Water Canal
was filed. Petlin had been investigating the corruption schemes
of the companys management since 2009.
Due to Petlins opposition activities the Sverdlovsk Region
Court allowed to the Federal Security Service to listen to
his talks, read his correspondence and put him on surveillance.
On March 21, the Sverdlovsk Region Court sentenced the leader
of the Sverdlovsk Region branch of YABLOKO and Yekaterinburg
City Duma deputy Maxim Petlin to three years of imprisonment.
He was accused for allegedly demanding from the Forum Group
developing company 3,000,000 rubles so that to end protests
against cutting the park and building a shopping center on
its place.
See also:
Maxim
Petlin, Chair of YABLOKOs branch in Ekaterinburg, is granted
bail. Press Release. March 16, 2012
February
23 is Maxim Petlins day. Statement by Sergei Mitrokhin. February
23, 2012
FSB provocation against YABLOKOs Maxim Petlin. Press Release,
February 25, 2011
Human
Rights
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of Environment
YABLOKO
Against Corruption
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