Suspect named in murder of judge who passed sentences on Nazi skinheads

On March 24, 2011, the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Markin, announced that the investigation had identified a suspect in the murder of Moscow City Court judge Edurd Chuvashov on April 12, 2010. 28-year-old Muscovite Alexei Korshunov is suspected of committing this crime, “who committed this crime out of revenge” for the judge’s sentences “for crimes of an extremist nature.”

The investigator made a decision to bring A. Korshunov as a defendant under Article 295 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (an attack on the life of a judge in connection with the consideration of cases or materials in court, committed in order to obstruct legal activities or out of revenge for such activities).

Due to the fact that the suspect is hiding from the preliminary investigation authorities, a search order was issued against him, and the court chose a preventive measure in absentia in the form of detention.

Let us recall that E. Chuvashov repeatedly participated in the consideration of court cases on charges of members of neo-Nazi organizations. On April 8, 2010, the judge handed down a verdict in the high-profile case of the “Ryno gang,” and in February 2010, in the case of the far-right group “White Wolves.” The judge was included in one of the “enemies of the people” lists after he said at the White Wolves trial that there were black sheep among the Russians. This video appeared on right-wing forums and caused indignation among the far right, “members of these organizations called on their supporters to deal with him."

According to media reports, A. Korshunov, like Nikita Tikhonov, accused of murdering lawyer S. Markelov and journalist A. Baburova, was a member of the right-wing radical group OB-88. The group also included Alexey Bormot and Alexander Parinov (Romanian), who is on the federal wanted list in connection with the murder of anti-fascist Alexander Ryukhin in 2006. In addition, the person accused of the murder of E. Chuvashov may also be involved in the murder of Stanislav Markelov. He looks like the man who was photographed at the Independent Press Center on Prechistenka, where S. Markelov gave a press conference two weeks before his murder. Participants in the event took photographs of him, and after January 19, they handed over these photographs to the Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate. Until recently, the photo was posted on the website of Petrovka, 38, in the “Attention, Wanted” section, but now it has been removed from there. According to unverified data, A. Korshunov could be the third participant in the crime, who should have given N. Tikhonov a conditional sign so that he would shoot at the lawyer.

Sources

• Detectives found the killer who shot Moscow judge Chuvashov - the threat of neo-Nazis // Newsru.com. 2011. March 24.
• Tumanov G. A radical nationalist was accused of the murder of judge Eduard Chuvashov // Gazeta.ru. 2011. March 24.