The cases of Buchenkov and Panfilov, accused of riots on Bolotnaya, were combined into one proceeding • Mediazona • RIMA

The cases of Buchenkov and Panfilov, accused of riots on Bolotnaya, were combined into one proceeding

The Investigative Committee has combined into one proceeding the cases of anarchist Dmitry Buchenkov and Maxim Panfilov accused of riots on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012, Grani.ru writes with reference to the lawyers of these defendants, Svetlana Sidorkina and Sergei Panchenko.

It follows from this that the court will consider the case against Buchenkov and Panfilov in one trial.

In addition, according to Grani, Dmitry Buchenkov was identified as a participant in the action on Bolotnaya Square by five police officers. Investigator Alexey Dobarin informed Sidorkina’s lawyer about the investigative actions that were still planned: identifications and confrontations with police. Buchenkov himself claims that on May 6, 2012 he was in Nizhny Novgorod with his parents. Initially, the investigator’s arguments that the anarchist was a participant in the protest action were based on photographs from a portrait examination. A portrait examination carried out by a specialist hired by the defense established that it was not Buchenkov who was depicted in the photographs in the case materials.

Photo from a portrait examination taken at the Northwestern Center for Independent Expertise and Methodology — Photo from a portrait examination taken at the North-West Center for Independent Expertise and Methodology

Panchenko’s lawyer also told the publication that his client Maxim Panfilov should only be transferred today, April 20, to pre-trial detention center-5 “Vodnik”. The defense lawyer did not explain why Panfilov had been in the Moscow Ministry of Internal Affairs temporary detention center on Petrovka since April 8.

Buchenkov and Panfilov are accused of participating in mass riots (Part 2 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code) and using violence against a government official (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code). Both of them deny any wrongdoing.

Anarchist Buchenkov was arrested in December. By agreement, his lawyer was unable to attend the meeting to select a preventive measure for him, since she was not informed about the time of the meeting. Panfilov was taken into custody in early April. In court, his lawyers and mother said he had a mental illness. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination.