St. Petersburg’s Judicial Qualification Board finds no ethical violations in judge’s behavior in Sasha Skochilenko case

St. Petersburg’s Judicial Qualification Board found that Judge Oksana Demyasheva did not violate judicial ethics in her conduct during the trial of artist Sasha Skochilenko, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for spreading supposed “disinformation” about the Russian army. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, this was the board’s response to Boris Vishnevsky, a member of St. Petersburg’s legislative assembly.

In mid-October, Vishnevsky asked for a review of the judge’s actions. He wrote that Demyasheva, while knowing that Skochilenko had been diagnosed with several serious health conditions, “repeatedly denied her requests to adjourn or recess so that the defendant could eat, take her medication, and rest.” The deputy noted that Skochilenko was taken to court early in the morning on days that hearings took place, so she wouldn’t have time to have breakfast in the detention center, and would only be brought back after dinner.

Vishnevsky gave the October 11 hearing as an example, noting that Skochilenko asked for a half-hour recess, so that she could eat instant oatmeal, drink water, and use the bathroom. The prosecutor approved her request, but the judge denied it. “It’s hard to call it anything other than torture and inhumane actions,” wrote Vishnevsky.

In the board’s response, they said they had reviewed the meeting minutes from the October 11 hearing, which show that a recess had already taken place, and that the meeting itself ended shortly thereafter. “There are no grounds to believe that Judge Demyasheva O.V. committed violations indicative of a disciplinary offense,” the board said.