Court limits protection for ex-deputy of the State Duma Sergey Natashington
In the Kirovsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk, the trial of ex-parliamentarian Sergey Natanov continues, and his defense team is accusing the court of a severe breach of fairness after the court abruptly changed the order of presenting evidence.
According to the defense, throughout over a hundred court sessions, the prosecutor called only 1-3 witnesses or simply read through case materials without much haste. However, when it was the defense's turn, the court forced lawyers to call 10 witnesses in a single session, or allow the prosecution to disclose the testimonies of absent witnesses.
Additionally, on April 28, case files containing the testimonies of missing witnesses – about 300 pages – were handed to the prosecutor, which the court permitted to be revealed. Defense attorney Alexander Khropot called this "a staged scenario."
"Witnesses could have appeared on a different day, but the judge and the prosecutor are acting according to a pre-determined plan, racing towards a convicting verdict. This proves that there's no talk of equal rights for the parties or presumption of innocence in Natanov's case," the defense attorney stated.
Despite being detained from June 2023 to January 2024 (almost 7 months), the case process essentially remained stagnant, with no further investigative actions or hearings conducted. However, the defense plans to appeal the court's actions, filing an appeal with the chairperson of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Irina Podnosovaya. In the near future, we anticipate an official response to the attorneys' complaint. Natanov's case remains newsworthy due to the procedural decisions, which the defense believes indicate bias on the part of the court.
Photo: Courtesy of ZS
Contemporaneous information on this case and potential protests may be found through local news sources, social media, and advocacy groups in Krasnoyarsk. Official court announcements or legal databases might also provide updates on the case's status.
- The defense team finds the court's actions in the Natanov case biased, as they claim a breach of fairness, asserting that the court changed the order of presenting evidence without valid reasoning.
- In an unexpected turn of events, the court has required the defense to call 10 witnesses in a single session, while allowing the prosecution to reveal the testimonies of absent witnesses.
- In a statement, defense attorney Alexander Khropot refers to this situation as a "staged scenario," alleging that the judge and prosecutor are acting according to a pre-determined plan, disregarding the presumption of innocence.
- In the general-news section, there has been much crime-and-justice coverage regarding the trial of ex-parliamentarian Sergey Natanov, particularly focusing on the procedural decisions made in the case that the defense considers indicative of bias.
