Reznik: Kadyrov's representative in Moscow City Court tries to replace subject of trial

Andrei Krasnenkov, representative of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov at the criminal trial on slandering Kadyrov, is misleading the court by trying to substitute the subject of the trial. This was stated on April 28 by Genry Reznik, advocate of Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", at the session at the Moscow City Court. This was Mr Reznik's reaction to Krasnenkov's demand to add Kadyrov's interview and video from his meeting with human rights defenders to the materials of the case.

During the video conference session Oleg Orlov tried to clarify with Ramzan Kadyrov, when and for what reason the latter formed a negative attitude to Natalia Estemirova as a human rights activist. The head of Chechnya said that it happened at his meeting with rights defenders on February 22, 2008, when Svetlana Gannushkina, a representative of the HRC "Memorial", passed him a letter of the residents of the township of "Shanghai", located in Grozny.

That letter, according to Kadyrov, contained untrue statements about the negative situation in that township. Although the letter was not signed, and later is appeared that it was written by a local resident Rosa Chemieva; nevertheless Kadyrov had a belief that Estemirova was the true author of the letter.

"Gannushkina immediately looked at Estemirova," explained Ramzan Kadyrov.

The advocate of Ramzan Kadyrov demanded to add to the case files the newspaper article from "Zavtra" (Tomorrow) written by its editor-in-chief Alexander Prokhanov (the article "Caucasus is Russia's Strategic Threshold", No. 39 (827) of September 23, 2009, in which Kadyrov spoke negatively about Estemirova, and lashed out at the HRC "Memorial", accusing it of "undermining Russia", accusing employees of this organization of lack of patriotism), as well as video and transcripts from the video footage of the Channel "Chechen-Inform" about Kadyrov's meeting with human rights defenders.

Krasnenkov argued that "it will be clear from these materials what Estemirova had been doing.

"Estemirova was preparing that letter (from residents of "Shanghai", - note of the "Caucasian Knot"). It shows how she treated her work, to please Orlov and discredit the authorities", said Andrei Krasnenkov at the trial.

When asked by Genry Reznik whether it means that Natalia Estemirova deserved murder, Krasnenkov replied: "No, not murder, just these problems had been noted also by Ramzan Akhmatovich; and they have relation to this case."

Genry Reznik disagreed with this petition, calling it "a substitute for the subject of the trial." "We have a specific criminal case. The parties that we have here are individuals. Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov has been recognized as a victim. But we do not consider here the relationships between the 'Memorial' and other human rights organizations with the authorities in Chechnya. It seems to me that the victim's representative is simply substituting the object of studies in the present case," said Reznik.

Andrei Krasnenkov answered to this that the offered materials - the newspaper articles and video footage of the meeting of the head of Chechnya with human rights defenders - are important for the case.

Finally, the judge ruled to attach the "Zavtra" newspaper article to the case files; while she rejected the petition to do the same with the video record and transcripts of Kadyrov's meeting with rights defenders.

The state prosecutor spoke against adding these documents to the case files; he said that it is impossible to establish the authenticity of the video record, absence of editing in it, and the authenticity of the transcripts of conversations, because these papers were not legally certified; they were signed only by the editor-in-chief of the Chechen TV Channel.

Kadyrov's advocate told the judge that "he was set up by Kadyrov's press service," and promised to present by the next, possibly final session before the debates, these documents to the correct, legally notarized form.