Moscow court sentences blogger Alexei Dudko to six years in colony

Today, the Taganka District Court has announced the verdict to blogger Alexei Dudko. Judge Natalia Larina found him guilty on all points; while his evidences were treated as unjustified and unconfirmed.

Alexei Dudko was sentenced to 6 years of minimum security colony; and his co-defendant Maxim Rogov - to 3 year of suspended (conditional) imprisonment, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Let us remind you that Alexei Dudko, known on the Internet under the nickname ingushetiya_ru, was indicted on three points: illegal drug possession, illegal possession of firearms, and the same offences, committed by a group of persons under prior conspiracy. The state prosecutor asked the court to sentence the defendant to 10 years in minimum security colony.

The blogger himself does not recognize his guilt and believes that his persecutions were caused by his social and informational activities.

At the previous court session, while evidencing, Alexei Dudko denied his attitude to the drugs and explosives found in his apartment and stated that the case was fabricated by law enforcement authorities because of his friendship with Magomed Evloev, the Ingush opposition activist, who was killed on August 31, 2008, and because he possessed information about the FSB agents, which, according to his story, were selling information to Evloev. Besides, according to Dudko, his relatives who wanted to take away his property also contributed to his conviction.

Earlier rights defenders expressed their concern about the further development of Dudko's case and about the state of his health.