In Tatarstan, two residents of Perm were acquitted, who were previously detained for possessing festive firecrackers and Islamic literature.

On June 10, the city court of Leninogorsk (Tatarstan) delivered a verdict in the case of two residents of Perm, Vagiz Khafizov and Sergey Smolnikov, who were detained on May 9 (the reason for the detention was the discovery of holiday firecrackers and Islamic literature in their car). The subject of consideration in the court was the complaint of V. Khafizov and S. Smolnikov against the decision of the magistrate on their arrest for disobedience to police officers. As a result, both were acquitted, and the case was dismissed for lack of corpus delicti. V. Khafizov was returned personal belongings and a car that had been kept for thirty-two days.

Legal assistance to the Permians was provided by the Slavic Legal Center. As reported on his website , “according to Khafizov’s statement, the Leninogorsk prosecutor’s office is currently conducting an investigation into the fact of exceeding official powers by police officers, which resulted in significant violations of the rights of Khafizov and Smolnikov.

In addition, the Slavic Legal Center is preparing a claim for compensation for moral damage and recovery of legal costs."

Sources

• Case against Perm Muslims dismissed for lack of corpus delicti // Slavic Legal Center. 2005. June 20.