The trial of Nikolai Bondarik in St. Petersburg

October 8 in the Kalininsky district Petersburg court began consideration on the merits of the criminal case against   Petersburg nationalist Nikolai Bondarik. Recall that N. Bondarik is accused of complicity in preparing a provocation on Eid al-Adha: two residents of St. Petersburg stated that they had been subjected to a xenophobic attack, but then confessed to the staging.

Previously, the suspect was removed charge in one episode, and the case itself was reclassified from part 2 to Part 1 Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting national hatred).

At the meeting, the representative of the public prosecution read out indictment, the prosecutor provided the court with a medical certificate from one of the witnesses in the case, Fyodor Pimenov, who testifies to illness of the latter, but the defense of the accused doubted her authenticity.

On April 14, 2015, the debate of the parties was held in the Kalininsky District Court of St. Petersburg. The public prosecutor asked to recognize Bondarik guilty and sentence him to 1 year and 6 months of suspended liberty, taking into account chronic diseases and elderly parents. As additional punishments, the prosecutor's office asks to include in the sentence a four-year ban, during the probationary period, to use the Internet, participate in actions and processions and communicate with the press.

The defense called the arguments of the investigation untenable, since the key Prosecution witness in court said he testified against the nationalist under pressure from the police. The lawyer asked the court to fully acquit Bondarik. " Even if we imagine that the witness Pilekhin, who four times changed his testimony, from the very beginning he pointed to Bondarik and confirmed it was in court, which was not, it would still be the words of a teenager against the words of an adult. No other evidence in the material no matter ," he said.

Bondarik himself does not admit his guilt.

Sources

• The prosecutor's office asks for a suspended sentence for nationalist Bondarik and a ban on participation in marches // Fontanka.ru. 2015. April 14.
• The court of St. Petersburg will begin consideration on the merits of the criminal case against nationalist Nikolai Bondarik // Echo of Moscow. 2014. October 8.