20:46, 17 December 2022

Advocate Mikhail Benyash* removed from defence of “Rosgvardiya” fighters dismissed in Kuban

Mikhail Benyash*. Photo by Yelena Sineok, Yuga.ru *Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent

In Sochi, a court has removed Krasnodar advocate Mikhail Benyash from participation in the case of dismissed fighters of the “Rosgvardiya” (National Guard of Russia), declaring that being recognized as a foreign agent, Mikhail Benyash does not have access to state secrets.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on October 28, the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) included advocate Mikhail Benyash in the register of individuals-foreign agents. Earlier, Mikhail Benyash has explained that the status of a foreign agent excludes the possibility for an advocate to deal with state secrets, but, in his opinion, that did not apply to the case of the dismissed fighters of the “Rosgvardiya”, which he is already conducting.

On February 25, Farid Chitav, the platoon commander of the OMON (riot police) squadron of the “Rosgvardiya” and eleven fighters from his squadron, who had been in Crimea on military exercises since February 6, refused to obey their commander’s order to cross the border between Russia and Ukraine. The fighters were returned to Krasnodar, checked, and dismissed from the “Rosgvardiya”. The fighters considered their dismissal illegal, but the court refused to reinstate them in the service.

On December 15, Mikhail Benyash announced that the MoJ requested the Krasnodar Chamber of Advocates to deprive him of his advocate status. According to the MoJ, Mikhail Benyash undermined the status of the Chamber of Advocates by the posts on his Telegram channel containing “incorrect statements” about the authorities, which is incompatible with the status of an advocate.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 16, 2022 at 03:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot