"Plant me instead of Alikhanov"

Former Senator Devlet Alikhanov was again left in custody

On April 21, the Supreme Court of Karelia examined the appeal of the Decree of the Petrozavodsk City Court on the arrest of an opposition politician known in the republic, a former senator, and now a deputy of the regional Legislative Assembly of Devlet Alikhanov.

Alikhanov has been in custody for two and a half months. He is charged with an illegal crossing of the border with an invalid diplomatic passport and fraud with municipal property. Devlet Alikhanov himself in court declared his complete innocence and that the initiation of such cases is a political order emanating from the head of Karelia Alexander Khudilinen and performed by the security forces.

The consideration of the arrest of Alikhanov’s arrest in the Supreme Court of Karelia was accompanied by a stir in local media. Increased interest was explained by the fact that shortly before this meeting, eight Alikhanov’s colleagues at once volunteered to become personal guarantors of the prisoner. They wrote petitions in which they asked the court to release Alikhanov from custody, replacing the preventive measure for release or maintenance under house arrest.

Vladimir Semenov and Emilia Slabunova

It is noteworthy that people of different political views and representatives of different factions wrote petitions, and the chairman of the Karelia Legislative Assembly, United Russia Vladimir Semenov , and the leaders of the three parliamentary factions of the Republic of Karelia - “United Russia”, the Communist Party and Yabloko, became one of the signaling. All of them are sure that the preventive measure selected for Alikhanov is excessive. In their petitions, guarantors guaranteed that Alikhanov, being free, would not interfere with the investigation of the criminal case and establish the truth.

The judge of the Supreme Court of Karelia Natalya Gerasina , who considered the appeal, wished to listen to every guarantor. As a result, seven explained. In a conversation with our correspondent, they explained that, basically, they were moved by "purely human feelings." “When such a lawlessness is happening, we could not leave our colleague in trouble,” they said and agreed that the only reason that Alikhanov was behind bars was his conflict with the current head of the republic and the powers of the authorities, that the politician in one way or another will affect the course of early governor's elections, if they were appointed in 2015.

“This is obvious, it is noticeable, everyone knows that Alikhanova’s case appeared for political reasons,” the head of the Yabloko faction in the Karelia Legislative Assembly, one of the guarantors of Emilia Slabunov, commented on the situation. - And most of all outrages the cynicism with which the authorities deal with a person. Take at least the crossing of the border. In theory, not Alikhanov should be punished, but that employee of the Federation Council, who at the right time did not take his passport from him and did not explain that his action was terminated. And those border guards who freely let him abroad ten times and let him go back. The same thing under the real estate transaction ... it was a public transaction with municipal property, all of them are under the control of law enforcement agencies. This is not Alikhanov signed the documents, but quite specific administration officials. However, they are not judged, but it. In my opinion, all this, at least, shows the crisis of the law enforcement system.

Deputies-detachment: Svetlana Loginova (Communist Party), Tatyana Strukova and Olga Shmenik (EP)

On the sidelines of the court, they also said that the guarantors were put on pressure so that they would not go to court. According to our sources, Alexander Khudilin, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, personally called Semenov. However, Semenov, like others, appeared in court on April 21.

“You see, I could not help but come,” the Speaker Speaker explained to us. - I will not comment on the case itself, it is resonant, or what else ... the court will figure it out. But as for the arrest, this is too strict a measure. I know Alikhanov well, probably for twenty years. And as his comrade, and as a citizen, I believe him and I know that he is a decent person, and if he gives a word, he will definitely restrain him. And, of course, if it is a pledge or house arrest, then he will not run away from the investigation.

One of the deputies of the police officers, the leader of the Communist Party of the Communist Party in the Karelian parliament , Alexander Merkushev even stated that "was ready to sit in a pre-trial detention center instead of Alikhanov."

Alexander Merkushev

“I want to offer the judge - plant me instead of Alikhanov,” said Merkushev, “because you can plant anyone with the same success.” He didn’t kill anyone, did not stab, where did such a preventive measure come from?! She is inadequate not only in Alikhanov, but in general for all people who allegedly committed economic crimes. The legislation in Russia is so confusing, especially if it concerns transactions with municipal and state property ... It is necessary to change the legislation, and not to plant people. And for that matter ... Alikhanov knew very well what everything was going on, he felt it. And he had the opportunity to leave. From Karelia, from the country. But he did not leave. Alikhanov is not the person who will run. He did not and will not. And so it’s easy to vouch for him, there is no doubt about him.

Another argument, which was brought by almost all those who entrusted Alikhanov, as a deputy and senator, he did a lot for Karelia and Petrozavodsk, and therefore does not deserve how the state is coming with him now.

The arrest of the arrest of Devlet Alikhanov was considered in the Supreme Court of Karelia within two days. A survey of deputies-deputies and other participants in the process took several hours. As a result, the appeal was refused - despite the guarantee, the court decided to leave a preventive measure without change. This means that the politician will spend almost three months in the investigative insulator - until July 12 of the current year. It is worth adding to this that in the criminal case of Alikhanov, the victims have not yet been established and the circle of people with whom the deputy allegedly entered into a conspiracy to commit fraudulent actions with real estate. That is, no one can even imagine how much the investigation will last at all and when the materials in the case will go to court.

As the lawyer Alikhanov Mikhail Shogin explained, now the defense will dispute the decision of the Petrozavodsky court on the election of a preventive measure in the Supreme Court of Russia, as well as in the European Court of Human Rights. According to the lawyer, all two and a half months, which Alikhanov had already conducted under arrest, he was kept in a single chamber. For some time it was a single in the pre-trial detention center of Petrozavodsk, but there was a period when the deputy was taken to another, “famous” colony throughout the country in the Segezhsky district of Karelia. There, recall, the term of sentence was serving and Mikhail Khodorkovsky was released from there on amnesty. It is possible that after the refusal of the Supreme Court of the Republic to change the measure of restraint to Devlet Alikhanov, he will be sent to further detention exactly there, in Segezh.

“The duration of this performance will depend on how soon the issue of the elections of elections is resolved,” said Emilia, the leader of the Yabloko faction, Emilia Slabunova .

Local media today call Alikhanov the "last political prisoner of Karelia." After several opposition politicians in February and March at once were behind bars on charges of economic crimes, only Alikhanov was currently in custody. Mass protests against "political repression" and for the resignation of the current governor of Karelia Alexander Khudilinen, who, according to many, is behind loud arrests, forced the power to soften the pressure to the opposition. Thus, the accused of fraud, the deputy of the Petrosoviet from the Yabloko party , Olga Zaletskaya and the director of the Lentorg trading house, Alexander Kornilova, were released from the pre -trial detention center under house arrest. The same measure of restraint was chosen for the accused of fraud with taxes of the former speaker of Petrosovet Oleg Fokin , who had spent more than a month in the investigative insulator. All this gave a reason to think that Alikhanov would also release from custody, who was in a pre-trial detention center under similar circumstances. However, the decision of the Supreme Court of Karelia was not in his favor, which, according to observers, says at least about the selectivity of Karelian justice.