Henry Reznik's speech in defense of Ildar Dadin

Henry Reznik connected to the protection of Politzek Ildar Dadin at the appeal stage. We publish the full text of a lawyer’s speech in the Moscow City Court on March 31, 2016. The court reduced the sentence of Dadin , convicted of pickets, from three to two and a half years.

The complaint filed by my colleagues contains even excess grounds in order to cancel this unlawful sentence.

I note that the norms of the special part of the Criminal Code are applied in inextricable unity with the norms of the common part of the Criminal Code. The materials that you are on your table are actually suggested that the court is invited to conflict with himself. Because in the decision of the administrative court, the act of Dadin is qualified as an administrative offense, and then it in an incomprehensible way is transformed into a crime. I draw attention to the fact that the crime contains not only formal features, but also material. This is the same public danger. And when the criminal court has a plot that has already been appreciated as administrative, part 2 of Article 14 of the Criminal Code should be appreciated - the case is subject to termination due to its insignificance. That is, the absence of the same public danger, which caused the qualifications of this act as an administrative offense.

I, your honor, want to highlight the essence of the situation in which we are all. And this essence is quite simple. The peaceful demonstration is not hidden for months - for years - to prison. This situation seems to be a blow to the prestige of the state that has been listed as legal and defined as such in the Constitution. It seems to me that the verdict of Judge Dudar is an anomaly of Russian justice.

This wrong norm (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code - Ed.) Gave rise to a completely wild judicial practice. In itself, imprisonment of a peaceful demonstrator is included in a flagrant contradiction with legal standards based on international standards, primarily with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. There are a number of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, but I will voice only one thing:

“Where demonstrators do not participate in acts of violence, it is important for state bodies to demonstrate a certain level of tolerance so that the freedom of assembly guaranteed by Article 11 of the Convention is not devoid of the essence.”

Freedom of opinions, freedom of print, freedom of assembly is the supporting supports of a legal democratic society. And then, when citizens, with the help of these forms guaranteed in the constitutions, bring their opinion and their ideas to the state and society, here the rule of law should show a high degree of tolerance.

Because it is very important to hear not only such opinions and ideas that are favorably perceived by the majority of the population, but also those that, imagine, excite, disturb, shock and even indignant. It is precisely such ideas that should be understood, because this is what guarantees a democratic system in the country.

In this regard, I want to turn to the personality of our client. Ildar Dadin belongs to, frankly, not too numerous category of our compatriots, which these high, sometimes almost abstract ideas and norms contained in the Constitution and other legal acts, perceives as his own, personal beliefs. They get mistaken with them. And, most importantly, these of our compatriots are consistently committed to a purely peaceful, non -violent forms of their public defending.

It was not by chance that I asked Ildar Dadin's questions here. (Dadin listed the topics of his pickets, saying that he was detained a total of about 30 times. - Ed.). It is enough to look at his activities. The man 15 times was an observer in the elections. And what unites these different reasons by which Dadin went to his pickets? The terrorist attack in Paris, the swamp business, the brothers Navalny, the rights of sexual minorities ... only one thing unites: Dadin is one of the most caring people who advocate law and justice.

Yes, we must admit that in communication such people are not always pleasant, are too radical, unyielding, prickly, viscous. But it is precisely the presence of people such as Ildar Dadin that does not allow civil society to relax.

Because such as Dadin, unusual, your honor, what is manifested with us: a certain everyday fatigue, a certain “sense of reality”. We perfectly understand: there is a law, there is life - how can you constantly kill your time, continuously defending these very abstract values?

But familiarization with the case file had no doubt for me: a real hunt was on Dadina. Look: all Dadin events are not when a rally or a procession with tens of thousands of people is convened. These are single pickets: a person protests against injustice, as he considers necessary and proper.

I have a certain grin of this assessment of evidence “by internal conviction”, which was given by Judge Dudar. Well, we are experienced people, we know that this same assessment is “in internal conviction” is something so vague, it is coarsening. And so we see in the verdict: it turns out that this can be believed, because they are in a uniform and they have no interest ... that is, how is there no interest? They delayed Dadina! And evidence of protection is completely ignored, because, you see, the witnesses of protection have general ideological and moral attitudes with Dadin!

In addition to these coarsed criteria that often promote the courts, there is also common sense and moral evidence. Dadin is a very experienced picketer. I almost said "professional." You could make sure that when he literally waving one article is waving, he searches for another article and drives the third article. Well, it is impossible to imagine that Dadin committed offenses and turned individual pickets into public! Well, look, please, what testimony our police officers gave in the court of first instance. My colleagues ask them a question: you claim that Dadin was not one (it is clear - a single picket does not require any approval), there were still people there. Have you delayed them? Yes, they say. Can you describe what kind of people are they, what are they? Do not remember. Well, you know, it shouts simply!

Yes, not only for Dadin, this is a matter. It has a colossal value. It shows whether the state is tolerant of the peaceful forms of defending its beliefs, which may be extreme, may be errors. Your honor, peaceful demonstrators have no place behind bars. This insult is right. Therefore, we consider it legal only to terminate the case. Your choice is very large - there are only arguments, the second, others. But nothing says that this unlawful sentence is upheld.

Video Report Dmitry Borco: