15 July 2023, 18:50
Court dismisses all motions of human rights defender Igor Nagavkin
Convicted human rights defender Igor Nagavkin requested the court of appeal to question participants in the investigation, the victim, and the fourth defendant in the case on theft, but the Volgograd Regional Court refused to grant the request. The motions of Igor Nagavkin and another convict to request materials of the case and exclude evidence were also dismissed.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on April 18, the court found Igor Nagavkin guilty of stealing jewellery and sentenced him to six years of imprisonment. The human rights defender claimed that the case was falsified. Igor Nagavkin was twice placed in a punishment cell at a SIZO (pre-trial prison), the defence considered the incidents to be falsified. On June 28, the prosecutor’s office requested tougher punishment for Igor Nagavkin.
In 2016, Igor Nagavkin, an expert of the all-Russian movement “For Human Rights” in the Southern Federal District (SFD), was arrested in connection with the theft of jewellery from a pawnshop. In June 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recognized Igor Nagavkin’s arrest and prolonged detention unlawful.
Igor Nagavkin requested to demand from the district court the primary materials of the case relating to the autumn of 2021. He believes the materials contain signs of falsification: in particular, the testimony of witnesses who confirmed his alibi was not taken into account.
Advocate Ilya Govorukhin received a response from the regional prosecutor’s office to the Igor Nagavkin’s complaint, in which he stated that force had been used against him in the SIZO. According to the document, the prosecutor’s check revealed that on May 15, warders of the SIZO actually used physical force against Igor Nagavkin.
According to the defender, Igor Nagavkin complained about the conditions in the punishment cell, in particular, about “the invasion of large rats,” but no answer to his complaint has yet been received.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 13, 2023 at 01:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Vyacheslav Yaschenko Source: СK correspondent
