Translated material
Lawyer Mikhail Benyash was denied the removal of his “foreign agent” status
The Pervomaisky Court of Krasnodar refused to remove lawyer Mikhail Benyash’s “foreign agent” status. Benyash himself announced this in his Telegram channel.
As Benyash said, the debate of the Ministry of Justice lasted two minutes. The department’s lawyer read that “Benyash received funding from Apology LLC, which was recognized as a foreign agent, after it paid Benyash” and explained that “whether the organization is included in the register of foreign agents or not included if it received funding from foreign sources, it ... falls under the law." The judge had to explain to the lawyer the meaning of the word “prejudice,” Benyash notes.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice lawyer noted that Benyash “discredited the SVO,” and also called the fees from Memorial and OVD-Info, which became the reason for including the lawyer in the register, “investments,” SOTA notes . When Benyash’s lawyer clarified why this particular word was used, the department representative replied: “It’s foreign.”
“They reproach me that I somehow speak incorrectly about the Ministry of Justice. What else should we call you? Incompetence of the highest order. Although why be skillful if you are strong,” Benyash commented on the court decision.
Benyash was added to the register of individual “foreign agents” in October 2022. On January 17, the Pervomaisky District Court took measures to provide preliminary protection to the lawyer while his claim against the Ministry of Justice was being considered. It was assumed that Benyash's status would be temporarily removed; he will not need to use the “foreign agent” label and send reports on “foreign agent” activities to the department. However, on February 1, the court overturned its own decision.
The Bar Association of the Krasnodar Territory is currently conducting disciplinary proceedings to deprive Benyash of his lawyer status on the recommendation of the Ministry of Justice. According to officials, his publications on social networks “discredit the civil service, as well as employees of executive authorities.” On January 27, the qualification commission of the chamber agreed with the department’s claims.
- Mikhail Benyash was subjected to pressure from the state several times. Previously, they had already tried to bring the lawyer to administrative responsibility under the article of discrediting the army for an interview about the war in Ukraine on the YouTube channel “Protocol,” but the courtdismissed this case. In addition, in March 2022, the lawyer’s office was searched in connection with a case of telephone terrorism (Article 207 of the Criminal Code). The court later overturned the search order.
- In 2018, a case was opened against Benyash for violence against a police officer (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code). Then the lawyer said that security forces beat him when he was on his way to join the detainees at a protest against pension reform. According to the investigation, during the arrest Benyash bit one police officer on the hand and hit the second in the face three times with his elbow. The lawyer spent a month in a pre-trial detention center and was later released on bail of 600 thousand rubles. Subsequently, Benyash was found guilty and fined 30 thousand rubles.