23:11, 19 January 2023

Verdict to Kuban "Rosgvardiya" fighters upheld

A fighter of the "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard). Screenshot t.me/rosgvard_krasnodar

The Court of Appeal has refused to satisfy the complaint of the "Rosgvardiya" (Russian National Guard) fighters from Kuban (Krasnodar Territory), who were fired after refusing to go to Ukraine, said Mikhail Benyash*, an advocate, whose application for taking part in the procedure was not even considered by the court.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 28, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) included Benyash* into the register of individuals-foreign agents. A court in Sochi removed Mikhail from taking part in the case of dismissed "Rosgvardiya" employees, stating that Benyash*, as a foreign agent, has no access to state secrets. On January 16, a court in Krasnodar suspended the MoJ's decision to enter the lawyer into the register of foreign agents for the duration of consideration of Benyash*'s claim. This decision allowed him to seek participation in the trial of the "Rosgvardiya" fighters.

On February 25, 2022, Farid Chitav, a platoon commander of the OMON (riot police) company of the "Rosgvardiya", and 11 fighters from his company, who were in Crimea during the exercises, refused to obey the commander's order to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border. The fighters were fired, but treated this as illegal.

On January 17, Mikhail Benyash* asked the court to admit him to the proceedings, he reported in his Telegram channel. According to his story, the court refused to even consider this option.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 18, 2022 at 05:33 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot