Trial of skinheads resumed in Surgut

On April 26, 2005, the Surgut City Court continued hearings on the case of five skinheads accused of killing and beating citizens of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

In March, the case was adjourned due to the absence of relatives of the victims. Now the relatives have filed an application with a request to consider the criminal case in their absence.

At the meeting on April 26, the court heard the testimony of all the defendants. Further hearing of the case was postponed until May 5 due to the absence of witnesses (earlier, a decision was made to forcibly bring to court some witnesses in this case, but for various reasons they did not appear at the hearing).

On May 5, 2005, the hearing was again adjourned because the lawyer of one of the defendants went on vacation. The hearing has been rescheduled for May 17.

According to the Surgut court, this high-profile case unites four criminal cases initiated on facts of violence (1 beating and 3 murders) against natives of the CIS republics.

On June 27, 2005, the court heard the testimony of 3 witnesses, who were brought to the hearing by force. The young people did not react to the summons sent repeatedly to appear in court. They were brought in accompanied by bailiffs, the judge explained.

The Surgut city court failed to interrogate two witnesses in the case of the Skinhead group: a girl living in Surgut and a young man who lives in Omsk.

According to judge Alexander Okhrimenko, the girl, afraid to testify in court, ran away from home. She had previously been put on the wanted list. However, law enforcement officers managed to find her and on June 10, 2005 brought her to the court session, which was adjourned. The young man, under various pretexts, refuses to come from Omsk to Surgut.

Law enforcement officers were instructed to ensure the delivery of both witnesses in the case to the court. Their testimony is of great importance, since they are direct eyewitnesses to the crimes of which the defendants are suspected.

The next hearing is scheduled for August 2, 2005.

On August 2, 2005, another hearing of the criminal case against a group of skinheads accused of several murders took place in Surgut.

The court heard testimony from three more witnesses. However, it was not possible to proceed to the final stage of the process - judicial debate. Lawyers for the accused insist on questioning another witness. Meanwhile, the woman, whose testimony is so important for the defense, does not live at the place of registration. On August 15, 2005, the next court session is planned, after which judicial debates are to follow. Then the date of the announcement of the verdict will be determined.

On August 15, a regular court session was held in Surgut. Letters from relatives of the victims, as well as case materials, were read out. The court decided to close the judicial investigation in this case. On the same day, the hearings on the case were held. The prosecution demanded for the defendants to choose a measure of restraint in the form of deprivation of liberty for a period of ten years, with the sentence being served in an educational colony, as well as a corrective labor colony of general regime.

Sentencing in this case is expected to take place on August 15-21, 2005.

Sources

• Hearings of the criminal case on the facts of "inciting national, racial and religious hatred" resumed in Surgut // ITAR TASS Ural. 2005. April 26.
• The trial in the case of a group of skinhead killers in Surgut was postponed until May 5 due to the absence of witnesses // Interfax. 2005. April 26.
• Peycheva M. The hearing of the case of Surgut skinheads is delayed // Tyumen line. May 5, 2005
• Hearings of the criminal case on the facts of "inciting national, racial and religious hatred" resumed in Surgut // Regions.ru 2005. June 30
• Peycheva M. Surgut skinheads: lawyers for the accused drag out the trial // Tyumen line. 2005. August 2.
• Surgut skinheads face 10 years in prison (Yugra) // IA REGNUM. 2005. 15 August. *