The Moscow city court refused to release the journalist Alexander Sokolov, who is already seven months spent in the remand prison on charges of participation in a proscribed organisation.
On appeal, the court recognized the legitimate elected him a measure of restraint.
Sokolov was arrested in late July 2015. He and the former editor of the newspaper “Duel” Yury Mukhin, and their colleague Valery Parfenov were charged under article 282.2 of the Criminal code (organization of activity of extremist organization).
Prohibited organization
The investigation claims that Sokolov, Mukhin and Parfyonov was included in the banned organization of the Army of the people’s will (AVN), which in the autumn of 2010 was the Moscow city court recognized as extremist and banned.
But according to the prosecution, the defendants had not accepted the decision to ban his organization and just renamed it “Initiative group for the referendum “For the responsible authority”. The goals and objectives of the new organization remained the same, insists the prosecution. The initiative group, as the MSA prohibited, lobbied for the referendum and the adoption of the law “for responsible government”: the authors of the project were asked to assess the work of deputies, senators and the leadership of the country after the expiry of their powers.
Old arguments
In the court of appeal the defence Sokolov demanded to change the measure of restraint. His lawyer Olga Chavdar insisted that the detention of journalist in jail there is no reason. Dependent Sokolov is an elderly grandmother, with whom he lived, falcons and recently married his girlfriend Darya.
Sokolov himself had also assured the court that he is not going and never intended to flee or obstruct the investigation.
Against the abolition of the arrests were made by the investigator Natalia chalaeva and asked to leave Sokolova in prison.
Earlier during the election of a preventive measure in Hamovnicheskom court talaeva insisted that falcons, when he was released, he wrote “instructions” for the witnesses how they should testify and what to say to a consequence. And was going to hide in the United States.
In turn, Sokolov, and his attorney Chavdar rejected these arguments of the investigator and explained that Sokolov just sent your friends your answers to the questions. In the USA the reporter wanted to do an internship from work, but did not win Grand and not even made a passport for the trip.
