Decision to open case against fugitive Russian judge delayed

On Friday, Russia’s High Qualification Board of Judges was again unable to hear a request from Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin to initiate legal proceedings against Moscow Commercial Court Judge Irina Baranova, RAPSI reports from the courtroom. The qualification board postponed the hearing explaining that it needs to question Baranova first. Baranova, who is suspected of assisting corporate raiders, did not attend the board meeting. Bastrykin filed a request to prosecute Baranova in January 2014. In January, the Federal Security Service reported that Baranova left Russia on December 21, 2013, allegedly for a vacation in Miami, Florida. Investigators have no information on whether she has returned to Russia.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272674786.html

Russia’s Supreme Court dismisses appeal over Bashneft stock forfeiture

Russia’s Supreme Court has turned down the appeal against the ruling ordering AFK Sistema to forfeit oil producer Bashneft’s stock, according to the statement posted on the court’s website on Thursday. The appeal was turned down without reviewing it, citing procedural violations and missing paperwork to validate the appeal . Earlier, an unnamed individual appealed the Moscow Commercial Court ruling, that ordered AFK Sistema to forfeit its accumulated stock of oil producer Bashneft to the state. The court’s statement reads that the applicant, starting in 2012, filed more than four dozen cassation appeals in economic and civil trials. They all have been returned without review. In most cases, the court based the dismissals on the applicant’s inability to prove his stake in any given case. Bashneft was privatized in 2009. It was controlled by the government of Russia’s Bashkortostan region until 2003, when a major stake was sold to companies affiliated with Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov. In 2009, Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate AFK Sistema gained control of the company. Investigators opened a criminal case last April linked to deals with Bashneft shares in 2002 to 2009. Rakhimov and billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov were implicated in the sale of Bashneft stock in 2009. Rakhimov was charged in absentia with embezzlement and money laundering, put on the international wanted list. Yevtushenkov, the board chairman and largest beneficiary of AFK Sistema, stands charged with money laundering.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141120/272623643.html

Russia's Constitutional Court Turns Down Pussy Riot Member Complaint

The Russian Constitutional Court has turned down an appeal by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Pussy Riot punk band, against what she sees as the violation of her constitutional rights by Russian Criminal Code Article 213 Part 2. The Constitutional Court published a relevant resolution on its official website on Wednesday. Tolokonnikova, one of the participants in the so-called punk prayer at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, appealed the provisions of Criminal Code dealing with disorderly conduct under which she was convicted in August 2012. Tolokonnikova argued that this article disproportionately restricts the freedom of expression, qualifies the violation of religious standards as a violation of public order, and criminalizes actions merely based on their perception by the majority of the public as unacceptable. The Constitutional Court noted in its resolution that freedom of speech always has certain limits indicated in the constitution and international law, and this fully concerns discussions on religious matters. Hence, the resolution says, the statute in question does not contain uncertainty either for citizens or for law enforcement agencies or courts, while the assessment of factual circumstances of a case is not within the Constitutional Court's purview, it said. Tolokonnikova was released from prison in December 2013 in line with an amnesty declared by the State Duma to mark the 20th anniversary of the constitution. She had been found guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 2 years in a general security penitentiary in August 2012 for a so-called punk prayer that five women from the Pussy Riot punk band wearing balaclavas staged at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow in February 2012.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=11594

More Bolotnaya Activists Jailed in Russia

A Moscow judge has sentenced three Russians to prison over violence at a 2012 protest in Moscow against President Vladimir Putin. The court on August 18 ordered Ilya Gushchin jailed for two and a half years and Alexander Margolin and Alexei Gaskarov to three and a half years each on charges of rioting. A fourth defendant, Yelena Kokhtareva, received a suspended sentence. The four were the latest in a series of Russian activists tried over violence at a protest on the eve of Putin's May 2012 inauguration. Prominent opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov was sentenced in July to four and a half years. Kremlin opponents say the trials in the "Bolotnaya Case" are part of a campaign to stifle dissent. They contend that protesters were provoked and that the state's claims of violence are exaggerated.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-bolotnaya-protest-prison/26536611.html

Ousted Kyrgyz President Bakiev Sentenced To Life

Former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been sentenced to life in prison in absentia for involvement in the 2010 killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him. The Bishkek Military Court also sentenced Bakiev's brother, Janysh Bakiev, who was the head of the presidential guard, and former Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov to life in prison in absentia on July 25. Another 25 defendants in the case, including several of Bakiev's relatives and associates, were sentenced to prison terms ranging between six and 25 years. The defendants were found guilty of either having fired upon or given the command to open fire on protesters in Bishkek during antigovernment protests in April 2010 that led to Bakiev's ouster. Nearly 100 people were killed and some 400 wounded in the clashes in central Bishkek. The trial started in 2011. Bakiev is living in Belarus with several family members.

http://www.rferl.org/content/bakiev-april-2010-sentence-trial-court-bishkek/25469819.html

Russia Jails Two Opposition Activists

A Russian court on Thursday jailed a radical opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov to four and a half years for organising "mass riots" ahead of Vladimir Putin's inauguration as president in 2012. Judge Alexander Zamashnyuk sentenced both Udaltsov and his political ally Leonid Razvozzhayev to four and a half years in a corrective labour camp for organising a rally against Putin and plotting further unrest. The judge said the men had organised "mass riots accompanied by violence against the authorities and damage to property." Udaltsov, the shaven leader of a banned radical leftist group, rose to prominence as part of the protest movement against Putin's return to the Kremlin for a third term. He responded to the verdict by declaring a hunger strike, his lawyer said after the verdict.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/24544778/russia-jails-radical-putin-foe-udaltsov-for-4-5-years/

Court Puts Navalny Under House Arrest, Bans Him From Internet

A court in Moscow on Friday ruled to place outspoken government opponent Alexei Navalny under house arrest and forbid him from using the Internet. The Basmanny city court made its ruling in connection with an ongoing embezzlement case involving the Russian representative office of French cosmetics giant Yves Rocher. Barring Navalny from using the Internet will ostensibly stop him from accessing his widely followed Twitter account and blog page, both of which he has used to rally supporters and publish accounts of alleged malfeasance by government officials. The house arrest is effective up to April 28. Judge Artur Karpov made his ruling in response to an investigator complaint about Navalny allegedly violating bail terms issued as part of an ongoing corruption probe into the politician’s dealings with Yves Rocher.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20140228/187966609/Court-Puts-Navalny-Under-House-Arrest-Bans-Him-From-Internet.html

Navalny Jailed for 7 Days, 420 Protestors Arrested in Moscow

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been jailed for seven days for disobeying a police officer while protesting against the sentences handed down to those found guilty of participating in riots at a May 2012 rally. "7 days for Alexei Navalny," Anna Veduta, press secretary of Navalny's Fund for the Fight Against Corruption, wrote on her Twitter account on Tuesday. Navalny was detained twice on Monday and spent the night in custody after attending a protest in support of the so-called Bolotnaya defendants, seven of whom were sentenced to between 2 ½ and four years in prison for their roles in an opposition demonstration on Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad that ended in clashes with police. More than 420 people were detained at the protest on Monday evening, police said. A police colonel questioned by the court said that Navalny shouted slogans and resisted detention, a claim that Navalny said was disputable with video evidence, Lenta.ru reported. Another police officer told the court that Navalny had been conducting an interview that impeded passing pedestrians and was warned of his violations before being detained.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/navalny-jailed-for-7-days-for-disobeying-police-at-bolotnaya-protest/495210.html

Moscow Court Convicts Eight Oppositionists of Rioting

A court in Moscow on Friday convicted eight defendants in the so-called Bolotnaya trial of rioting and assaulting police at a protest on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration to a third term as Russian president in 2012. Russian prosecutors have asked for up to six-year prison terms for the protesters, but the judge postponed sentencing until Monday, the day after the Winter Olympics close in Sochi. The Bolotnaya trial, named after Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, where the protest took place, has dragged on since the summer of 2012 and has become symbolic of a crackdown on dissent in Mr Putin’s third term. Tens of hundreds of protesters gathered outside the court chanting “Freedom” and “Russia without Putin”. Riot police waded into the crowd, conducting multiple and apparently random arrests. On Monday the process continued and the defendants were sentenced to various terms, from a suspended sentence to 4 years. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested in from of the court, including opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/moscow-court-convicts-eight-bolotnaya-defendants-of-rioting-and-assault-1.1700765
http://www.echo.msk.ru/news/1265324-echo.html
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1265236-echo/ (video)

Russian Businessman Sues Russian Bank for $600 Million in London

A Russian businessman has filed a $600 million lawsuit against Russia's second largest bank, VTB, with London’s High Court, a newspaper reported Monday. Russia’s Vedomosti business daily quoted a source as saying Konstantin Malofeyev, head of Marshall Capital, was claiming $600 million in lost earnings from an injunction previously imposed on a Rostelecom stake as part of a lawsuit by VTB. The injunction prevented Malofeyev from participating in the formation of the Garsdale telecom holding led by tycoon Alisher Usmanov. Malofeyev confirmed the report and said he had filed the lawsuit back in June 2013. Marshall Capital's assets, including a 10-percent stake in the Rostelecom state fixed-line operator, were frozen in August 2011 as part of a fraud case involving a $225 million loan that a VTB subsidiary issued to Rusagroprom in 2007 to finance the acquisition of assets from the Nutritek International Corp., a baby food producer registered in the British Virgin Islands. Rusagroprom defaulted on the loan. VTB then claimed that Malofeyev was the actual owner of Russagroprom and Nutritek. The businessman has denied the claims.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140127/186948021/Russian-Businessman-Sues-VTB-for-600-Million-in-London.html

Moscow Court Orders Seizure of Navalny's Assets

A court in Moscow on Tuesday ordered the seizure of bank accounts and assets belonging to opposition leader Alexei Navalny as part of an ongoing embezzlement case against him. Investigators formally charged the anti-corruption blogger and his brother Oleg with fraud in a case involving the local representative of cosmetics company Yves Rocher at the end of last month. Basmanny court press spokeswoman Natalya Romanova said a judge had ordered Monday that 50,000 rubles ($1,500) should be frozen, along with bank accounts amd company assets seized during the investigation. The value of the accounts and company assets was not disclosed. Authorities have said they believe the Navalny brothers embezzled around 26 million rubles ($790,000) from Yves Rocher Vostok and another 4 million rubles from the Multidisciplinary Processing Company. The brothers also face charges of laundering 21 million rubles.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131112/184666092/Moscow-Court-Orders-Seizure-of-Navalnys-Assets.html

Two Killed in Grenade Blast in Russian Court

Russia’s Interior Ministry said at least two people were killed Friday by a grenade blast in a magistrate’s court in the central city of Kurgan. Police said that a man detonated a grenade, killing himself and one other person. Two others were injured by the blast. Investigators have reached the site of the explosion. A law enforcement source told RIA Novosti that the suspected attacker was motivated by unhappiness at an unfavorable verdict. The source said the attacker had tried to enter a courtroom, but detonated a grenade while he was being searched by a guard.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131101/184468588/At-Least-Two-Killed-in-Grenade-Blast-in-Russian-Court.html

Navalny Faces New Charges

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is facing fresh charges of embezzlement over an alleged scheme to defraud a local branch of cosmetics manufacturer Yves Rocher, investigators said Tuesday. The Investigative Committee said in a statement that Navalny and his brother, Oleg, swindled Yves Rocher out of 26 million rubles ($812,000) and laundered 21 million rubles. The prospect of further legal troubles for the outspoken Kremlin critic follows a mild reprieve in mid-October when a court in the city of Kirov revoked a prison term for separate fraud charges, instead imposing a suspended sentence. Moscow City Court earlier this month turned down a motion by the Navalny brothers to dismiss the case against them. The Investigative Committee had in December 2012 accused the Navalnys of embezzling over 55 million rubles from a trading company that was subsequently revealed to be the Russian operation of French cosmetic giant Yves Rocher. Oleg Navalny is accused of using his senior position with Russia's Postal Service to manipulate Yves Rocher into entering into a contractual agreement for cargo mail transportation with a private mailing service in which Alexei Navalny was registered as founder.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131029/184417499/Opposition-Leader-Navalny-Faces-New-Embezzlement-Charge.html
http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20131029/269444774.html

Russian Ballet Star Pleads Not Guilty to Bolshoi Acid Attack

Bolshoi Ballet star soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko pleaded not guilty to masterminding an acid attack on the theater’s ballet artistic director, RAPSI legal news agency reported from the Moscow courtroom where the trial opened Tuesday. Sergei Filin, 42, suffered third-degree burns to his face and eyes on January 17 when a masked assailant threw concentrated acid in his face outside his apartment building in Moscow. Dmitrichenko, 29, has been in pre-trial detention since he was arrested in March, when police said he had confessed to organizing the attack but claimed he did not know that the perpetrator planned to use acid. The assault was reportedly motivated by Dmitrichenko's desire to avenge his girlfriend, a fellow dancer who had been passed over by Filin for key roles in the Bolshoi's productions.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131029/184410411/Russian-Ballet-Star-Pleads-Not-Guilty-to-Bolshoi-Acid-Attack.html

Navalny Gets Suspended Sentence

A court in Russia offered outspoken opposition leader Alexei Navalny a reprieve Wednesday by granting him a suspended sentence on embezzlement charges. The decision by Kirov Region Court marks a softening of the five-year prison term ordered in July, but will leave Navalny open to arrest should he engage in the defiant political activity that has become his trademark. Navalny will also be prevented from running for office for the foreseeable future. In a blog post after the sentence, Navalny conceded he would not be able to stand for election, but stressed his continued commitment to playing an active political role.

http://en.ria.ru/news/20131016/184179641/Russian-Opposition-Leader-Navalnys-Appeal-Hearing-Starts.html
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/navalny/1178464-echo/
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1178232-echo/ (video)

3 Facing Charges Over Moscow Anti-Migrant Clashes

Authorities in Moscow have detained at least three people suspected of involvement in anti-migrant riots that targeted a vegetable warehouse in the city’s south over the weekend, police said Tuesday. Deputy city police chief Oleg Baranov said at a City Hall meeting that police are holding two Moscow residents and one person from the surrounding region. He gave no information about what role the individuals may have had in the unrest, which injured dozens, including six police officers. Hundreds of people were detained by police overnight Sunday and on Monday in response to the violence that erupted after protests over the fatal stabbing of a 25-year-old man on Saturday spiraled out of control. The killer, who police identified Tuesday as being from the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, remains at large. Police said Tuesday morning that around 70 people are facing minor administrative charges over the clashes in the neighborhood of Biryulyovo. RIA Novosti’s Rapsi legal news agency cited a local court as saying 23 people have been ordered to pay fines ranging from 500 rubles ($15) to 3,000 rubles ($93).

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20131015/184156907/3-Facing-Charges-Over-Moscow-Anti-Migrant-Clashes.html

Russian Supreme Economic Court Judges Massively Resign

At least seven, but possibly up to 23, of 53 judges of Russia's Supreme Arbitrazh (Economic) Court (VAS) submitted resignation letters, according to media reports. The VAS press office confirmed that seven judges resigned. Other sources say there are 10 or 23 of such resignation letters. Apparently this is a reaction to the bill submitted to the State Duma by Vladimir Putin, according to which the VAS should be dissolved and merged with the Supreme Court. Russia's Supreme Arbitrazh Court is the last instance court of the Russian economic court system. Many analysts are highly critical about the proposed reform.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2315938
http://pravo.ru/story/view/89378/
http://eurasian-law-breaking-news.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/russian-highest-economic-court-to-be.html

Russian Highest Economic Court to Be Dissolved

Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a bill to radically reform the Russian judicial system. According to the bill, the Supreme Arbitrazh (Economic) Court will be dissolved. The functions of both the Supreme Arbitrazh Court and the Supreme Court (currently being the highest court of general jurisdiction) will be transferred to the new Supreme Court. To implement the reform, changes must be made to the Constitution. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that the reform will be completed. Surprisingly, no details of the reform are found in the bill. Apparently, specific features of the future court system are to be determined later. No meaningful public discussion of the reform, that was proposed by Putin last June, has ever taken place. Many analysts are highly critical about the reform. Unlike the system of general jurisdiction courts, the system of arbitrazh (economic) courts headed by Anton Ivanov transformed during the last decade into a reasonably efficient and high-quality system of resolving commercial disputes. This accumulated efficiency is very likely to be lost in transition, critics say. According to rumors, the major purpose of the reform is to create a job for current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who may become the head of the unified Supreme Court.

http://www.forbes.ru/mneniya-column/vertikal/245937-sudebnaya-kontrreforma-k-chemu-privedet-likvidatsiya-arbitrazhnykh-su
http://tvrain.ru/articles/putin_obedinjaet_sudy_nuzhen_novyj_predsedatel_kto_esli_ne_medvedev-353897/
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130621/181796923.html

Moscow City Court Refuses To Scrap Mayoral Election Results

The Moscow City Court has refused to annul the mayoral election results that were contested by Alexei Navalny, an opposition activist and the runner-up in the election, RAPSI learned in the courtroom Friday. One major lawsuit was filed with the Moscow City Court along with 951 minor ones lodged with other courts in Moscow. The lawsuits are based on Navalny's theories of uneven media coverage for the candidates, as well as attempts to sway the vote of Moscow's senior citizens by unlawful means. The mayoral election took place in Moscow on September 8. Navalny received 27.24% of the vote, compared with the 51.37% received by Sergei Sobyanin, a former Kremlin official, according to the city's election commission. Communist Party nominee Ivan Melnikov received 10.69%, and the three remaining candidates all scored in the single digits. Independent election monitor GOLOS, which deployed a network of election observers, placed Sobyanin's result at 49.45%and Navalny's at 28.56%. Navalny claimed earlier on his blog that at least 28,000 ballots, or 2% of the vote, were rigged to give Sobyanin more than 50%, thus ruling out a runoff.

Russia’s Top Judge Injured in Car Accident in Ghana

The Chairman of Russia’s Supreme Court, Vyacheslav Lebedev, has been injured in a road accident in Ghana, Russian officials told RIA Novosti on Tuesday. Lebedev, 70, was on his way to Accra on Monday after a speech at the Ghana Bar Association in the city of Ho when a truck slammed into his convoy late that evening, local media reported. A diplomatic source told RIA Novosti that the Russian embassy in Ghana is assisting Lebedev, who was rushed to the hospital after the crash. “Lebedev was involved in a car accident and transported to a military hospital in [Ghana’s capital] Accra for medical treatment,” the source said. “The Russian embassy in Ghana is providing him with all necessary assistance.”

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130917/183508693/Russias-Top-Judge-Injured-in-Car-Accident-in-Ghana.html