Freedom for a word

In Yekaterinburg, Judge Alexander Suslov refused to arrest journalist Evgeny Anisimov

Outwardly, a healthy man went into the courtroom yesterday, limping, a scratch was visible on his face. Before the meeting began, as Evgeny Anisimov told his colleagues from other media that his leg was damaged, and a lot of hematomas were damaged on his body, since after the detention the security forces were greatly beaten.

Evgenia Anisimova, the leading channel "Beautiful Russia", was detained on April 23. At about seven in the morning, the employees of the Investigative Committee came to his house with a search, and a search was also held in the editorial office of PR. A few days before the detention, the journalist said that he and his colleagues in the editorial office are allegedly persecuted in connection with the published investigation on the actions of Bogdan Novok, the Yekaterinburg oligarch and a member of the Public Council at the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee in the Sverdlovsk Region. The journalist invited everyone to the press conference and promised to provide evidence and originals of documents on the alleged deposits of land from municipal property of Yekaterinburg. The press conference was scheduled for April 23, but

At 7 in the morning, the security forces were already on the threshold of Anisimov’s apartment, they seized computer equipment, flash drives and prepared press packages with copies of the promised documents.

It is worth noting that from the moment of receipt of an application to Anisimov to the investigating authorities from the victim’s newspaper to the initiation of a criminal case and the detention of the suspect, only 7 days have passed. At the same time, the suspect, according to the lawyer Natalia Volkova, representing the interests of Yevgeny Anisimov, was never even interviewed. The case is investigated by the Investigative Committee.

Natalya Volkova filed a motion to remove the judge. According to her, it was precisely the judge of Suslov, who today considering the measure of the restraint of Anisimov, who gave permission to the employees of the Investigative Committee to search in the apartment of her client. The lawyer is sure that in this case the judge cannot be objective, since he has already formed an opinion about Anisimov’s guilt. The judge refused the lawyer to satisfy the petition, but at the same time satisfied the investigator’s request to close the press meeting.

“The journalistic investigation ended with the fact that I ended up in a cage, although, in fact, I just completed my work,” said Evgeny Anisimov before the start of the hearing. - All [published] information is open on the Internet. I do not consider myself guilty, because I did everything within the framework of the media law.

Natalya Volkova confirmed Novaya Gazeta that there are really hematomas and abrasions on the body of Evgenia Anisimova.

“He was kicked and pushed even during a search in his eyes with relatives. He lives with an elderly mother, who, after a stroke, with his wife and two young children.

At the same time, my client did not show any resistance, ”the lawyer emphasized. She plans to file a complaint.

After the court hearing held behind the closed doors, the judge Suslov unexpectedly made the decision to free Anisimov from custody for everyone, he was banned from communicating with witnesses in a criminal case as a preventive measure, which means that the accused can continue journalistic activities.

Yekaterinburg