| Spanish lawyers are afraid to defend their Russian colleague None of the Spanish lawyers want to defend their Russian colleague Alexander Gofshtein, who was arrested at the end of November in Madrid on suspicion of involvement in the “Russian mafia,” because they are afraid of being arrested themselves. This was stated yesterday at a press conference by the managing partner of the law office where Mr. Gofshtein is a member, Heinrich Padva. And the head of the Moscow legal community, Henry Reznik, expressed hope that the prisoner of the Madrid prison will be able to be released in the coming months.
Alexander Gofshtein was arrested in Madrid on November 21, when he once again flew from Moscow to visit his longtime client Zakhar Kalashov, a Georgian crime boss nicknamed Shakro Molodoy, in prison. The Spanish National Police (NPI) accused Mr. Gofshtein of allegedly becoming “too” close to his client and gradually turning from a lawyer into a “full-fledged member of a criminal organization.” Kalashov was arrested in May of this year as part of the special operation “Wasp” carried out by the Spaniards to neutralize the “leaders of the Russian and Georgian mafia” who had settled in the country. Mr. Gofshtein, according to NPI, served Shakro Molodoy as something like a courier and, at his request, transported large sums of criminally earned money.
Immediately after the arrest of his colleague, Heinrich Padva and several other lawyers flew to Madrid, but they were not only not allowed to visit their colleague in prison, but were also not allowed to attend the court hearing that made the arrest. They were forced to return to Moscow with nothing and yesterday told reporters about their impressions.
As Mr. Padva reported, Alexander Gofshtein, although he did not have the right to represent Kalashov’s interests as a full-fledged lawyer (only Spanish lawyers can do this), nevertheless received all the necessary permission from the authorities, including the Spanish Bar Association, to visit his client in prison. “It turned out that all conversations between Mr. Gofshtein and his client were recorded, on the basis of which the arrest was made,” Mr. Padva said. -- The Russian and international legal community regards this as an unprecedented fact that violates the rights of both Russian citizens and lawyers. From our point of view, such actions of the Spanish authorities violate international norms, including the confidentiality of communications with a lawyer, the right of a lawyer to travel freely and provide assistance to his clients.”
According to Mr. Padva, the Spanish court indicated in the arrest order that Mr. Gofshtein “transported significant amounts of money in envelopes from Russia to Spain and almost handed them over to his client.” “Two or three times he actually deposited 500 euros into Kalashov’s account, which he was entitled to do,” Mr. Padva explained. “And the court wrote that it did not believe that the amounts were so insignificant.”
Lawyer and member of the Public Chamber Anatoly Kucherena, in turn, found it suspicious that Mr. Gofshtein was under surveillance at all. “We need to understand and figure out how it could happen that a lawyer, who immediately after concluding an agreement with his client receives the right to attorney-client privilege, is bugged,” he said. And his colleague, the president of the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers, Henry Reznik, believed that the Russian special services could not have done it without the help of the Russian special services. “The case with Gofshtein is unique, he was detained on the basis of wiretaps, and it is possible that the legs of this case grow from here. Otherwise, why did representatives of Russian law enforcement agencies go to Spain literally ten days before Gofshtein’s arrest?”
True, Mr. Reznik was quite optimistic. He already had experience dealing with the Spanish court when he represented the interests of Vladimir Gusinsky, who was also once arrested in Spain, but subsequently released. “The Spanish court has one flaw - it is a truly independent court,” joked the head of Moscow lawyers. “It’s impossible to even think about putting any pressure on the court.” That is why, Mr. Reznik believes, the court will change its opinion regarding Mr. Gofshtein and release him.
According to Mr. Padva, at the moment another problem has arisen - who will defend Mr. Gofshtein. “Local lawyers are afraid, they say that they too might be swept away,” he complained.
Representatives of the Russian consulate in Spain also encountered obstacles. As Mr. Padva said, local authorities for a long time did not provide any information to the consulate about the detention of Russian citizen Gofshtein. And when they informed him and the consul arrived at the prison, after waiting for three hours, he learned that he had already been transferred to another prison. As a result, they were able to see each other and talk only the day before yesterday.
The Public Chamber and State Duma deputies wrote a letter to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asking him to help “clarify the situation.” It is possible that this question will be asked during the visit of Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to Russia scheduled for next week.
“Probably the Spanish authorities are tired of all kinds of mafiosi. But some members of their law enforcement agencies are clearly at the mercy of the monsters that the sleep of reason has given birth to. So let them wake up,” said in conclusion Alexander Gofshtein’s father, Mikhail Gofshtein, whom his colleagues call nothing less than “the conscience of the Russian legal profession.” Ekaterina BUTORINA, Yulia MAKSIMOVA |
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