“My client does not consider the Russian court to be a court.” Leonid Gozman's lawyer explains his position regarding the sentences handed down to the politician in Russia

Leonid Gozman's lawyer explains his position regarding the sentences handed down to the politician in Russia

Leonid Gozman remains one of the most persecuted opponents of the Russian government. In Russia, he received two sentences in absentia in the case of “ military fakes” and “ justification of terrorism,” for which the politician received eight and six years in prison, respectively.

Novaya Gazeta Europe asked lawyer Alexey Obolents, who represents Gozman’s interests, for a comment in order to clarify the defense’s position:

“My client, during two trials in the courts of first instance, became convinced of the pointlessness of turning to the Russian court for protection due to open abuse of law for political purposes. In both trials, the courts completely ignored the defense's arguments, the law, and simply common sense. It is obvious that the decision on guilt, as well as on what punishment would be imposed, was made in advance and was determined not by the circumstances of the case, but by the position of the Federal Security Service, which has been pursuing my client for many years. Under these conditions, filing an appeal would only be a waste of time and effort, and would only contribute to the legitimization of state arbitrariness.”

Obolenets explains that his client Leonid Gozman did not file an appeal against the verdicts because “he does not consider the Russian court to be a court in the sense as enshrined in the same Constitution of the Russian Federation.”

“In his situation, as in the situation of all persons persecuted by the Russian authorities for political reasons, the judicial authorities represent only a component of the repressive mechanism, along with the Federal Assembly, the FSB, the FSIN, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rosfonmonitoring, Roskonadzor and other countless structures united by the concept of “the power of the Russian Federation.” Therefore, appealing to the appellate authority in the situation of my client is no different from the victim’s appeal to the executioner with a request for leniency, when the ax has not only been sharpened, but also brought in,” says lawyer Alexey Obolenets.

He adds that his client in no way considers himself guilty, and hopes to return to the issue of the sentences imposed on him after the fall of the Putin regime, when a normal rule of law state emerges in Russia in place of the lawless dictatorship: “This position is currently being analyzed by an international team of lawyers with the aim of being presented to the relevant structures of the United Nations as a precedent for the impossibility of appealing to the judicial authorities in Russia due to the legal nullity of this action.”