Chita Region Court has adjourned until 3 July consideration of Platon Lebedev’s complaint about falsification of materials concerning Open Russia in the current case against him

The decision was taken at the request of the prosecutor’s office. It is now the third time that the courts are examining the validity of evidence about the Open Russia Foundation cited in the charges against Lebedev.

“The court is considering the complaint against falsification of evidence in the criminal case concerning episodes linked to Open Russia,” Lebedev’s attorney Igor Sapozhkov told the Interfax-Siberia agency. “The case was already under examination and the regional court has returned it for reconsideration by the court of the first instance.”

Lebedev’s defence team believe that the complaint about this episode does not relate to the criminal case under which Lebedev presently stands accused but should instead be examined in the jurisdiction of the Basmanny district court in Moscow. “This concerns another case which was investigated in Moscow and the decisions by the investigators and the prosecutors against which the complaint has been lodged were made in Moscow within the territorial jurisdiction of the Basmanny court,” said attorney Alexei Miroshnichenko by way of clarification.

The defence team assert that it was specifically because of the criminal case linked to the Open Russia Foundation that Lebedev was convoyed to Chita where accusations were then brought against him concerning yet another case.

“The foot-dragging over this judicial hearing has exceeded all reasonable deadlines and is itself evidence that the decision of the Ingodinsky district court was contrived and groundless,” attorney Alexei Miroshnichenko told the Chita Region Court on Thursday. “The unlawful actions of officials in the Prosecutor General's office cannot be justified simply by saying they are endowed with the necessary powers and responsibilities,” stressed Miroshnichenko: “we should not lose sight of the fact that they must exercise those powers and responsibilities within the framework of the law.”

The defence team reminded the Court that though the criminal case against its client was instigated on 2 December 2004 Platon Lebedev was only informed of the new investigation two years later. “It is not allowed to open a criminal case without prima facie evidence of the principal crime.”

Lebedev’s lawyers also demanded that the Court issue a ruling that specifically concerns the introduction by the judge at the Ingodinsky district court of false allegations in that court’s decision, which is now under scrutiny, and gives an assessment of the judge’s subsequent ruling to restrict the deadline by which additional materials might be added to the appeal.

The representative of the prosecutor’s office did not make any statement at the hearing.


(Interfax, 26.06.2008)