Defence of Balabanov, who set fire to military registration and enlistment office, draws court’s attention to provocative role of special services in defendant’s case

At the first court hearing in a case against Mikhail Balabanov, accused of plotting to set fire to a military registration and enlistment office in the Stavropol Territory, public prosecutors submitted to court half of the evidence. The defence requires justification for classification of the criminal case as a terrorist offense and will draw special attention of the court to provocations on the part of law enforcers, emphasizes an advocate of the defendant.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Mikhail Balabanov was detained in December 2022. According to the investigators’ version, the defendant was plotting to set fire to the military registration and enlistment office on instructions from the Ukrainian intelligence service. The criminal case was instituted under the article on preparation for a terror act. The young man’s father notes that his son believed he would be able to go abroad after the mobilization had been announced.

The defence emphasizes that one of the main signs of a “terror act” is “intimidation of the population,” and no such a goal can be identified in the case on setting fire to the military registration and enlistment office.

Furthermore, the defender also points out that the materials of the criminal case contain no evidence that Mikhail Balabanov was preparing specifically to set fire to the building of the military registration and enlistment office.

The actions incriminated against Mikhail Balabanov were, if not completely, then largely provoked by the law enforcement bodies, the advocate emphasizes.