Yesterday, the collegium of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court rejected the cassation appeal to the regional prosecutor's office, which demanded that the sentence passed on the chief doctor of the regional psychoneurological dispensary, Mikhail Sokolov, be overturned on August 26, 2005. Then the court punished the doctor for taking a bribe with a fine of 400 thousand rubles and deprivation of the right to occupy leadership positions in the healthcare system for a period of 3 years. The regional court upheld the sentence, considering that Mr. Sokolov had already been punished enough - a significant fine, sharply deteriorating health and a six-month prison sentence during the investigation. Mikhail Sokolov's lawyer Robert Dubinnikov considers the case completely completed and is confident that his client will not be involved in anything else. It is still unknown whether the prosecutor's office will appeal the verdict. Let us recall that the chief doctor of the regional psychoneurological dispensary, Mikhail Sokolov, was detained in his office on the evening of February 15, 2005 on suspicion of receiving a bribe of 75 thousand rubles. As the investigation suggested, businessman Avetisyan gave money to the head physician for receiving an additional contract for the renovation of the mental hospital building. As a result, Mr. Sokolov was charged with bribery coupled with extortion. On April 19, the charge was reclassified to Part 1 of Art. 290 (“Reception by an official of a bribe in the form of money, securities, other property or benefits of a property nature for actions in favor of the bribe-giver, if such actions are within the official powers of the official”). During the investigation, Mikhail Sokolov was in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Krasnoyarsk and was released from there on his own recognizance on August 15. On August 26, the Oktyabrsky District Court found Mr. Sokolov guilty and sentenced him to a fine of 400 thousand rubles and deprivation of the right to hold leadership positions in the healthcare system for a period of 3 years (see Kommersant No. 160 of August 27, 2005). September 6 acting Assistant regional prosecutor for media relations Vladimir Medvedev said that the prosecutor's office would appeal the sentence as too lenient.

The trial began with the unexpected permission of the court for journalists to be present during the consideration of the complaint, but without video cameras or cameras (previously the trial was closed to the press. - Kommersant). Judge Tamara Koltsova immediately inquired about the reason for the defendant’s absence. Mikhail Sokolov’s lawyer Robert Dubinnikov said that his client “... has a very serious health condition, and therefore a serious medical examination is scheduled for him today at 9 o’clock in the morning,” and asked the court to consider the complaint without him. “My client’s position is fully agreed with me,” Mr. Dubinnikov assured.

The representative of the prosecutor's office, Tatyana Dyatlova, stated that they demand a review of the verdict and the referral of the case for a new trial to the same Oktyabrsky District Court, but with a new composition. “We believe that Mikhail Sokolov, through his actions, committed a dangerous public act and discredited state power as a whole. In addition, in violation of the law, the previous court did not decide the fate of the material evidence (75 thousand rubles - Kommersant) in this case,” said Ms. Dyatlova.

However, Robert Dubinnikov noted that Mr. Sokolov was punished more than enough: “My client - a person characterized exclusively on the positive side, an honored doctor of the Russian Federation - spent 6 months in prison, seriously damaged his health, was deprived of the right to occupy leadership positions for the maximum period possible by law, and also sentenced to an exceptionally huge monetary fine.” In addition, Mr. Dubinnikov pointed out to the court that at the first trial he asked for a suspended sentence for the doctor, hinting that “our law is primarily focused on humanity.” Tamara Koltsova asked what Mikhail Sokolov did after the verdict to pay the fine. “He is ready to give the money - he was simply warned that before the cassation hearing this would be misunderstood and misinterpreted,” the lawyer said.

At this point, the court arguments ended, and the judge removed everyone from the courtroom. While the judges were deliberating, Mr. Dubinnikov, who told the press before the start of the trial “I’m clearly not sure of anything yet,” nervously walked along the corridor. After everyone was invited back, Tamara Koltsova announced the decision: to refuse the cassation appeal to the prosecutor's office, to uphold the sentence of Mikhail Sokolov, and to turn the bribe he received into state income.

As a smiling Robert Dubinnikov told Kommersant after the meeting, “the court’s decision completely satisfied our side.” He noted that the prosecutor’s office “theoretically” could challenge the decision, but strongly doubts that this will be done: “I find that the position of the prosecutor’s office in this case was explained by the increased interest in it from the media, especially after Sokolov’s release from custody. The fact is that television companies showed his release, interpreting this as organ weakness, hence the interest. I, too, was not sure of the outcome of the case, while the judges were deciding what to do, I was tense, I thought that the case was under the control of some structures.”

In addition, Robert Dubinnikov spoke about the fate of the second criminal case against Mikhail Sokolov, initiated as part of a bribery case. Let us recall that, as previously stated by the regional Central Internal Affairs Directorate, an audit of the financial and economic activities of the regional psychoneurological dispensary was carried out, as a result of which facts were discovered of unjustified transfer of budget funds in the amount of 688 thousand rubles from the account of the KKPND and the Health Department of the regional administration to the account of a private entrepreneur. Now, according to Mr. Dubinnikov, this case has made several transitions (from the regional prosecutor’s office to the FSB, then to the Oktyabrsky District Internal Affairs Directorate), after which it settled in the regional Internal Affairs Directorate, the investigator of which officially assured the lawyer and his client that, by law, he must carry out the necessary investigative actions, and then close it with the wording “due to the lack of corpus delicti.” The same was confirmed to Robert Dubinnikov by both the FSB and the regional police department. “I was assured - and I have no doubt about this - that the case would be dropped and Mikhail Sokolov would never be involved in anything again. It’s time to put an end to it,” said the lawyer.

It was not possible to find out the opinion of the regional prosecutor's office on the verdict yesterday.

IGOR KLEBANSKY

Kommersant (Krasnoyarsk) No. 189 dated 10/07/2005, p. 12

Mikhail Sokolov was released again