Accused of murdering a gay man at Kursky railway station escaped from Moscow court during a break

In Moscow, Anton Berezhnoy, a defendant in the case of the murder of gay Roman Edalov at the Kursky railway station, escaped from the Basmanny District Court during a break. This was reported by the LGBT group “Stimul” with reference to lawyer Artem Lapov; The information was confirmed by the press service of the court.

The accused, as human rights activists said, “after listening to the prosecutor’s speech, disappeared during a break in the hearing, leaving his passport in court.”

The website of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction states that the hearing was postponed to June 2 due to the “failure of the defendant to appear.” Judge Irina Vyrysheva issued a ruling to bring him in tomorrow, court press secretary Irina Sofinskaya told Mediazona.

According to investigators, Anton Berezhnoy attacked Edalov and Evgeny Efimov with a knife in the summer of 2019, when they were returning from a nightclub; Efimov was wounded, Edalov died on the spot (Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code, Article 116 of the Criminal Code). The victim’s partner said that Berezhnoy called them “faggots.”

In February 2020, the jury acquitted Berezhny, but the Moscow City Court in September sent the case to a new jury. He was under recognizance not to leave the place.

Updated at 14:33 . A comment from the press service of the Basmanny Court has been added, and therefore the title has been changed.