My defense

The investigation and our court are convinced that any detained person is already a criminal. Journalist Dmitry Borko - about how to protect himself and others from judicial arbitrariness

We help Russia sitting to help

May 2012 my wife and I met in the Himalayas. And when they returned, there was only conversations that about Bolotnaya Square. They said different things, and I was interested in understanding. Since I have been working with photography and video for 30 years, I first of all began to watch pictures of those events. Looking over in a journalistic investigation. And when the first courts began over the accused in the riots in Bolotnaya, I already knew about what happened there, probably more than the participants themselves, investigators, and even more so lawyers. With this baggage of knowledge, I was called to participate in the trial - a defender. There is such an opportunity in Russian law - to protect people in fact as a lawyer, not being a member of the lawyer and even a professional lawyer. In the USSR, this was called a "public defender", now - just "defender".

I am used to analyzing, comparing and gluing videos. And most importantly - to see the details that could be important. I knew how photographers were working on the set, and I personally knew many. On the records, I was looking for possible witnesses and those who could shoot this episode. As a result of the search and conversations with dozens of those who shot and eyewitnesses, the views of tens of hours of videos and thousands of photographs managed to prove the innocence of many of the defendants. Unfortunately, the court did not accept our arguments. But if the process was not political, the results of this work could save people from the prison.

I told this story to show what a public defender can do, sophisticated in any professional field important for this criminal case: finances, trade, construction or, as in my case, photographs. Relatives and friends of my clients did not know how to, and lawyers simply did not have time for this.

When the “School of Public Defender” opened, I began to lead a seminar for working with visual evidence in criminal cases there.

I am used to analyzing, comparing and gluing videos. And most importantly - to see the details

Very different people come to school. Your son arranged a cheerful flash mob with Arbat with friends, and they were accused of violating the law on mass events. A harmless twentieth article of the Administrative Code, thanks to the hunt for “disagreements”, now threatens 20 thousand of a fine. The girlfriend’s husband, returning the “subshof” after the corporate party, quarreled in the subway with the cops, they beat him and, in order not to answer, threw drugs. At the same time, increasing the statistics of "disclosure". Competitors ran into a friend’s business, he got a nasty - they blinded a fake financial business. In the end, you just once violated the law - it also happens. And you need protection.

The investigation and our court are convinced that any detained person is already a criminal. The state lawyer is often busy only because he convinces you to plead guilty. A hired lawyer, even for crazy money, will work "from the same time." There are exceptions, but rarely. A person can only protect himself. Thanks to the law, his friend, brother, wife, human rights activist can also do this - anyone who is disinterestedly interested in helping a person who has fallen in the “millstone of justice”.

The investigation and the court are convinced with our court that any detained person is already a criminal

The defender has all the rights of a lawyer. He has access to the case file, an unlimited right to date in prison, and even after the sentence, “in the zone”. That is why relatives often go to defenders. But in the absence of experience in such a situation, it is easy for a person to harm. To prevent this from happening, at least basic knowledge of laws and codes, as well as the practice of communicating with law enforcement agencies, are needed. This is what the defender school is engaged in.

Natives come here to help their loved ones, activists and volunteers of various movements - to be ready to protect their colleagues in case of possible attacks. And those who decided to devote themselves to volunteering in the field of protection of the rights of the arrested or convicted. I met at school a mother of a guy near Moscow, accused of banditry. She says false. A man came who at one time spent on a real crime, and then “rolled up” for the next term just like that - because he was already sitting. Now he is a volunteer of “Rus' sitting” and often protects people in court. Those who already have experience in defense are divided in their experience. But the main teachers are serious professional lawyers. So far, we have “do not rush from Sum and prison”, this is, in my opinion, a very useful thing.

Now the school of public defender exists exclusively on donations. You can help the project of free legal education by transferring any possible amount. All money will go to the school of school and teaching legal literacy anyone who wants to help themselves or to their loved ones defend the truth in court.