The elderly father of oppositionist Ivan Zhdanov has his detention in a pre-trial detention center extended

The Naryan-Mar City Court in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug extended the period of detention for Yuri Zhdanov, the father of the former director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Ivan Zhdanov. His lawyer Vladimir Voronin reported this on Twitter.

The court left the elderly Yuri Zhdanov in pre-trial detention until January 12, 2022. He has been in custody since the end of March. In the summer, Zhdanov was hospitalized due to deteriorating health; detention center staff later confiscated his painkillers.

The substantive hearings began on October 25, lawyer Voronin said on Instagram. “Yuri Pavlovich is accused of fraud and forgery. The bottom line is that he, as the chairman of the housing commission, organized the transfer of ownership of the apartment to a person who did not have the right to do so.

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After that, we expressed our attitude to the accusation voiced. Zhdanov does not admit guilt. Our position is that the housing commission is an advisory body, which, firstly, does not transfer apartments to anyone, but only recommends (!) something to the head of the administration, and secondly, recommends transferring the apartment not to ownership, but to social hiring The final decision on transferring an apartment for use is made by the head of the administration, not the commission. Plus, this man stood in line for 10 years, his case was checked many times during both scheduled and unscheduled inspections,” the defense lawyer comments on Zhdanov’s case.

At sessions on October 26 and 27 , the court questioned key witnesses in the case.

• A criminal case was opened against Yuri Zhdanov because he, being a member of the housing commission, recommended the head of the village of Iskateley to allocate an apartment to a local resident under a social tenancy agreement. The contract was later terminated, and the administration returned the apartment through the court. Ivan Zhdanov noted that a year before, an inspection in this case did not reveal any violations, and the head of the village, by whose order the apartment was allocated, did not become involved in a criminal case. Former FBK director Ivan Zhdanov has repeatedly stated that the case against his father is a method of putting pressure on him.
• In May, Yuri Zhdanov was reclassified from the article on abuse of power (Part 1 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code) to more serious articles on official forgery (Article 292 of the Criminal Code) and fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code). In July, his indictment was confirmed .
• In June, the Moscow City Court recognized the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the Foundation for the Defense of Citizens' Rights (FZPG) and the headquarters of Alexei Navalny as extremist organizations.