A break was announced in the trial on Novikov’s case in the court of Krasnodar

On February, 14, the third trial in Krasnodar regional court passed off during which the question of taking Dmitry Novikov, retired judge of Khosta district of Sochi, into custody. A break in the trial was announced till February, 16.

Novikov was detained on October, 17, 2011, and released from custody on the same day. On October, 18, a charge of abuse of authority and bribery was brought against him.

On January, 30, 2012, Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of Committee of Inquiry of the Russian Federation, directed a motion to the regional court on alteration of Novikov’s preventive punishment from being on his own recognizance to taking him into custody. Consideration of the motion was appointed on February, 9, but then deferred till February, 14, because of self-recusation of two judges.

At the session of February, 14, Novikov and his defense challenged the whole judicial board of the regional court including Chief Justice Alexander Chernov expressing their distrust.

“In court I referred to the practice of European Court of Human Rights where the fact of distrust of itself is a sign that the judicial board must withhold from conducting the case against the claimant, Dmitry Novikov said to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. – However, the regional judges, Zagudaev and Kolesnikov under the chairmanship of Nikolaichuk go on trying me”.

Officials of Krasnodar regional court told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that Novikov and his defense were given time to study the materials of the new motion from Investigative Committee of Krasnodar region till 10:00, February, 16. The court announced a break until this moment.

Tamara Novikova, Dmitry Novikov’s mother and defender, told our correspondent that she was preparing to go on a single-person picket near the building of Committee of Inquiry of Russia in Moscow and demand to “stop corrupt persecution” of her son.