Advocates claim violation of Krasnodar activists' right to defence

In Krasnodar, cases against activists detained at a rally in support of Alexei Navalny are being considered simultaneously by nine judges, and as a result, some of the activists were left without defence, advocates note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 31, at a march organized by the Navalny's Krasnodar office, activists demanded a change of power and the release of political prisoners. According to the Navalny's Krasnodar office, by the evening on January 31, the number of people detained in Krasnodar was 43 people.

Today, the Leninsky Court of Krasnodar has held trials in the cases against the detained activists. According to advocate Timur Filippov, today, four of his clients have already been fined under the administrative article "Violation of the established procedure for holding a rally."

"All detainees are charged with those two parts of the same article. The administrative protocols and testimonies of 'witnesses' are written in the same way with standard wording. The people are being punished for participating in the rally, although the law does not provide for punishment for that," Timur Filippov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the advocate's version, some of the detainees are deprived of the right to defence.

The detainees are brought to courts by buses, and the available advocates do not have enough time to defend all the defendants, advocate Mikhail Benyash has confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 1, 2021 at 03:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.