Navalny was allowed to communicate

At the next meeting on the Yves Rocher case against the Brothers Navalny, instead of interrogating witnesses, the prosecution told about the fire extinguishers

Alexey Navalny at the building of the Zamoskvoretsky court on August 21, 2014/ Author photo

Not a single witness in the Yves Rocher case in the Zamoskvoretsky court on Thursday appeared. It was not possible to find out which of the 200 witnesses in the case and why they did not come. Instead, prosecutors announced their intention to change the procedure for providing evidence and start not with the interrogation of witnesses, as previously assumed, but with the announcement of the case file: it was proposed to hear a number of documents - from certificates of marriage and birth of the children of the defendants, to Oleg Navalny’s job descriptions, orders to transfer him from one department of Russian Post to another, extracts from his work book, extracts from a banking account Alexei, various agreements on the provision of services and additions to them ...

The defense side, of course, protested: the logic of the process is disturbed. Instead of starting a trial with the clarification of what exactly the Navalny brothers are accused of and what real claims to them have, the court is invited to start with the announcement of a strange set of documents, of which nothing follows. “Let's question the victims,” the lawyers of Navalny repeatedly suggested, but the judge repeatedly refused to them: prosecutors present evidence, to decide in what sequence to do this.

However, before starting a three -hour reading of excerpts from documents (not all those who were in the hall withstood this reading to the end), the judge suddenly remembered the openness and publicity of the process.

"

Instead of starting a trial with clarification of what exactly the Navalny brothers are accused of and what real claims to them have, the court is invited to start with the announcement of a strange set of documents

"" Do you have information that some people did not get into the hall? How many people did not hit at the moment? " “Suddenly, she asked the Navalniy and then - already in a completely friendly tone,” she asked everyone present whether they needed a video broadcast for those who did not get into the hall from their point of view.

Then it was completely amazing: the judge satisfied Navalny’s petition for permission to communicate with persons who acts as a number of civil cases. Moreover, following the letter of the decision, Navalny was allowed to communicate not only with the co -stands, but also with any people, except for witnesses in the case of the “case of Iv Rocher”.

“Triumph of Russian justice! This has not happened for a long time! Thank you very much! " - the defendant Alexei Navalny exclaimed loudly.

“This was the first significant petition, satisfied with the courts over the past four years,” he explained to reporters during the break.

"

“Triumph of Russian justice! This has not happened for a long time! Thank you very much! "

““ Another ban exists-not to comment on the press in the case, ”the FSIN officer, who accompanies the politician to the court, grumbled displeasedly.

“I do not give comments on the case,” Navalny answered, although he always did this, including before the application of the petition. Just earlier, making a statement, he took pictures and deliberately addressed his lawyers, and the cameras simply found themselves nearby. Now he could finally afford to talk to the journalists directly: “I can’t explain it with anything. Well, perhaps the fact that I was loved by Olga Egorova (Chairman of the Moscow City Court. - The New Times). Do you believe in this? "

The next three hours above the courtroom were silent, which was hardly pierced by quiet, deprived of the emotions of the voices of two women-experts, monotonously read out how many fire extinguishers were put under one of the contracts ... Understand the documents for the announcement and why some of them were read completely, others were partially partially, and in some simply the name was announced-it was impossible. By late dinner, they finished.

- Will we have witnesses or will not? Do they not call them at all? - begins Alexei Navalny preparation for the next meeting.

- I would like to understand what we will do in the next meeting - Mikhailov’s lawyer supports his client.

"

"The law does not provide for a message about what will happen in the next court hearing"

” - the law does not provide for a message about what will happen in the next court hearing, the judge responds with the challenge. It is formally right. There is no special norm of the Code of Criminal Procedure, obliging the prescription to inform the parties in the details of the plan of the next meeting, and to provide for which of the witnesses will appear, it cannot. protection, including the interrogation of witnesses.

“Your honor, I want to find out that with witnesses,” Mikhailov does not let up. “Why don't we interrogate witnesses?” Either they did not come, or they did not call them at all.

“On the part of the court, I’ll tell you,” the judge suddenly decides to frankly, “since the case was postponed for only a week, the feasibility of sending the summons that go around Moscow for 5 days, fell off.” From the court to date, we did not call witnesses.

- Will there be witnesses at the next court session? - Once again, I tried to find out the lawyer of Mikhailov.

- The prosecution provides evidence. I do not know what witnesses they will provide for the turnout next time, ”the judge answered.

“But the court will send them the agenda?”

- The court will not send them the summons.

The next meeting in the Yves Rocher case will be held on Friday, August 29, at 10 a.m. Navalny remembered that someone told him: five Fridays in August allegedly happens once every more than 800 years.