Losing Сonsciousness Karamzin is Arrested for Another Three Months

Published on 26.07.2019 14:07

Photo: https://yadi.sk

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The sitting of Balashikhinsky City Court considering the extension of Karamzin’s detention was held behind closed doors. No surprise here. The judges could not afford somebody to see such “justice”.

On 5 June, a court sitting took place at Balashikhinsky city court where the detention of the lawyer Kantemir Karamzin was extended until 10 October. The defendant’s layers said that in all their years of professional activity they have never seen such outrage in relation to a suspect whose state of health is critical. The defendant was not taken to the court from remand centre, but to an unknown place, from which a video broadcasting was organised. He could not say a single word during the sitting as he kept falling down and losing consciousness. People wearing masks were standing next to him and were answering the judge’s questions instead of him. The sitting was held behind closed doors, though there were no grounds for it.

Some specific particulars of holding this proceeding were noted well before the judicial proceeding commenced.

Neither journalists, nor the people who know Kantemir Karamzin and who came to support him were allowed to attend the proceeding. After some time only immediate relatives were let in. Before that, two representatives of FSS entered the courtroom without any encumbrances and stayed there anonymously as listeners.

Prior to the commencement of the sitting Kantemir Karamzin’s lawyer Marina Gromova made an attempt to find out the reason for selection of such a small courtroom and the court’s representatives’ replied that this room is equipped for video broadcast from remand centre. Video link was required because Kantemir Karamzin was not taken to the court, though this contravenes the law.

“In the course of the sitting I had a feeling I attend funerals. The presiding judge Kobzareva Olesya Anatolyevna was holding the sitting so cynically”, – Marina Gromova will say later.

At the same time – the lawyer noticed – the judge had a small knowledge of the materials in the proceedings and this is confirmed by the fact that during proclaiming the ruling she could not pronounce the names appearing in the materials in the proceedings correctly.

In the course of the sitting the relatives and friends of Karamzin were exasperating with the prohibition to attend the sitting. At some moment, the police officers prohibited the lawyer’s assistant to bring supplemental documents on the case into the courtroom. This caused another tide of discontent among those present who chanted “Free Kantemir!” from time to time.

As Marina Gromova told later, during the sitting the screen with video broadcast from remand centre showed two people, one of which wore mask and the second one hardly resembled Karamzin they could not recognise.

Karamzin’s relatives pointed the judge’s attention to his state of health, he looked like a sick person, who did not realise what was going on. The judge reacted aggressively to this attempt and said she would remove them from the courtroom for replications.

When the judge turned to Karamzin over the video link, a man in the mask responded and said that Karamzin hears the judge. Karamzin’s lawyers realised that he did not react to all that was happening and turned with an appeal to urgently get the chief of health centre of remand centre No. 8 to Karamzin. The judge declined the petition and continued the hearing.

Similarly, the judge declined the lawyers’ petition to postpone the hearing due to the state of health of the suspect, that simply fell down at some moment.

The lawyers mustered arguments that the absence of the suspect during the consideration of selection of pre-trial restriction is possible in two cases only – the suspect is in the Federal wanted list or in case of problems with health that prevent him from being taken to the court sitting. After that, investigator Andrey Nikolaev said that there is a statement confirming a quarantine enforcement due to some virus infection is announced at the remand centre No. 8. Earlier that day, another Karamzin’s lawyer failed to get to him in the remand centre. She was told Karamzin was taken away from the remand centre, but refused to tell her where he was taken to.

Karamzin’s defenders solicited for a challenge of the judge after a number of his objections. While the judge in the retiring room was taking the decision on the petition on her own challenge (this is procedural rule) the lawyers and the relatives saw another person wearing mask came to Karamzin and started performing some medical procedures blocking the video camera so that his actions were not seen. Defence is of the opinion that another sedative injection was administered to make sure Karamzin does not return to consciousness.

After the break the judge declined the petition on her challenge and continued the sitting regardless the lawyers’ attempts to pay her attention on the suspect’s medical state.

After the prosecution speech the defence communicated to the court the objections against the extension of the period of detention. These included Kantemir Karamzin’s materials forming a 150-pager document including the complaints against the charges, to the fact of submission of the case from Moscow court to Moscow province, complaints in respect of violation of Article 90 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

According to Gromova, the defence insisted that there are no grounds to extend the period of detention as no investigative activities are carried out. In particular, the investigator did not even hold questioning of the detainee. Of 10 investigative activities mentioned in the defence’s previous petition as necessary, only one expert review, that was supposed to be carried out at the FSS was appointed, but never carried out. Later this expert review was transferred to an Internal Ministry Structure in Moscow.

The lawyer informed that a night before a sick person originating from the Central Asia was put in Karamzin’s ward, who did not let Karamzin a chance to sleep because of his state. Karamzin’s defence concedes that this event could have been a result of deliberate act aimed to cut up the suspect’s state.

Gromova confessed that during the sitting Karamzin’s defenders wished to leave it as none of the lawyers “saw such outrage” and “did not see such cynical hearing of the case” in all the years of their professional activity. Gromova said that the defence will appeal today’s judicial decision, involve mass media – the “fourth power” to the disclosure of the Karamzin’s case. She also advised that a complaint is lodged with the Human Rights Ombudsman.

Let us remind that as IA (Information Agency) FederalCIty informed the lawyer Kantemir Karamzin was taken into custody by FSS people on 12 April. He was accused of fraudulent practices. Over 12 years ago the lawyer allegedly prepared a document with false signature according to which a writer Oleg Blotsky owed him USD200 thousand.

The arrest took place regardless the fact that according to effective judicial decisions Kantemir Karamzin won this case at 10 courts of various levels including at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. However, Balashikha city court took the lawyer into custody and placed him at the remand centre No. 8 at Sergiev Posad until 27 July.

Apart from unexpected and unexplainable (at the first look) resuscitation of the case considered a number of times, NG (Nezavisimaya Gazeta) informs, evident oddness of the period of pre-trial restriction, taking into custody and arrest were accompanied with numerous violations of the law as well as unmotivated severity in relation to Karamzin. In this respect, the man under arrest suffering from diabetes mellitus was not provided with medicine, meal, sleep and in addition two criminals were put into his ward. No medical treatment was provided to Karamzin suffering from diabetes mellitus. Mass media publishes Karamzin’s evidences that searches with full undressing are initiated a few times a day. Relatives’ visits are prohibited.

In his open letter to Vladimir Putin Karamzin explains current situation with the fact that he affected financial interests of FSS General Aleksey Dorofeev who is linked with the owners of Moscow developers FSK “Lider” (Vladimir Voronin) and DSK-1 (Vladimir Kopelev). Karamzin was protecting the interests of Canadian entrepreneur Mark Richards and won a number of arbitration proceedings against the owners of building companies amounting to 15 billion Roubles. According to Karamzin, cited by NG, main purpose of the provocation against him is to derail the arbitration case against Voronin and Kopelev.

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It should be pointed out that according to Svobodnaya Pressa (SP) the plan envisaged transformations of DSK-1 that would allow for staying clear from the debts to Canadian investor recently acknowledged by the DSK-1 owner Kopelev. Lawyer Karamzin’s successful actions blew these plans up and threatened the interests of the father and son Voronins’ OAO FSK Lider merged with DSK-1, people in the business circles are of the opinion that the Voronins are supported by the representative of security agencies, SP informs.

For this reason, according to Karamzin’s statement and testimony FSS Colonel Sergey Natarov acting pursuant to Dorofeev’s instructions, demanded to “lose the case” at arbitration court and leave for abroad. Fearing prosecution, Karamzin left Russia in March, but returned back to Moscow in April to attend the determinative sitting of the court that was supposed to consider the illegitimacy of transfer of shares of DSK-1 to the Voronins (FSK “Lider”). The lawyer was taken into custody at the court entrance.

As Karamzin witnesses, “officers from authorities” visited him in the remand centre a number of times and during the off the record conversation offered him to admit the fault in the Blotsky’s case as well as to withdraw the arbitration cases on the DSK-1 case. Five years “de bene esse” were promised, Lenpravda informs.

And on 19 July, two persons introduced as FSS Major Ushakov and FSS Colonel Ivanov beat him unmercifully during their visit. The lawyer adds that the security officers expressed offences, blackmail and threats of homicide. In the Crime Incident Report to acting Chief of remand centre No. 8 Kamardina E.N., to the Chief Military Criminal Investigation Division under the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the Internal Security Inspectorate under the FSS of the Russian Federation (registered in the remand centre No. 8 register ref.: 0643 dated 20 July 2019) the lawyer informs among other things that a high ranking official Karamzin was offered to talk to, promised in an insulting manner that Kantemir would “perish in the jail”, he would be sentenced to 17 years and 6 more accusations would be added if he does not withdraw the complaints against DSK-1, Lenpravda informs.

“Free Kantemir Karamzin!” petition picks up votes on the Change.org website. (Over 8 thousand signatories), the Karamzin’s case gains publicity in mass media too. The Karamzin’s case may have wide public resonance together with other loud debunking of the activity of law enforcing authorities.

federalcity.ru

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