Tsipinova's colleagues called the acquittal a triumph of justice.

Acquittals are rare in Russia. In Diana Tsipinova's case, a second acquittal on charges of assault against a police officer was the result of the active stance of the legal community, including the leadership of the Federal Chamber of Advocates.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the Urvan District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, which re-examined the case of lawyer Diana Tsipinova, again acquitted her of the charge of assault against a police officer. The prosecution had requested a 2.5-year prison sentence for Tsipinova in a penal colony.

The Urvan District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria, reconsidering the charges against Diana Tsipinova's lawyer, thoroughly examined the case materials and the circumstances of the incident, including the actions of the police officers at the time of the incident, video recordings, and the testimony of the defendant and witnesses, a court press service employee told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The court found that the police officers used physical force against Tsipinova without sufficient legal grounds. The court concluded that Diana Tsipinova attempted to enter the police station building but did not use violence against the officers, while the officers themselves initiated "physical contact."

“The police officers lacked legal grounds for using physical force against Tsipinova. Therefore, Tsipinova made no attempt to ‘overcome the police officers’ resistance,’ as stated in the charges. Therefore, Tsipinova’s actions lack the elements of a crime,” the court stated.

Lawyer Nver Gasparyan noted that “the so-called victim did not even appear in court to testify.” At the time of the incident, the victim “was wearing ordinary trousers and a black T-shirt, not a police uniform,” Olga Chudentseva, a lawyer from Stavropol Krai, noted during the closing arguments.

“After the verdict was announced, Tsipinova burst into tears. To Judge Bogatyreva’s question, ‘Do you understand the verdict?’” She replied, "Thank you, Your Honor!" Then she immediately called her father and said, "Dad, I'm acquitted!" the "Word of Defense" project reported on its Telegram channel.

Tsipinova told journalists that she was "insanely happy," but declined to comment further. Although the court hearing was open, filming was prohibited.

Svetlana Volodina, President of the Federal Chamber of Advocates of the Russian Federation, declared after the verdict that December 1st is "another day for the Russian legal profession." "We are proud of our court, and we believe that court can be adversarial. We are proud of Diana Tsipinova because she didn't give up and remained in the profession. After all, there are those who, faced with the reality of life, stop and don't go any further or no longer handle criminal cases. I am proud that we have lawyers like Diana Tsipinova. "Today, we are awarding her and all her defense attorneys the 'For Professionalism' medal, because being able to withstand a blow like that is a professional quality. And I am proud of my colleagues who have defended her for these five and a half years," the chamber's press service quoted her as saying.

Another of Tsipinova's defense attorneys, attorney Murat Karabashev, called the acquittal "a triumph of justice": "This is the fruit of the joint efforts of the attorneys and the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation. And enormous gratitude to all those who believed in success, especially Svetlana Volodina," he said. "We are glad that justice has prevailed for the second time." "It couldn't have been any other way," said Tsipinova's defense attorney, Olga Chudentseva. Ruslan Kubanov, President of the Karachay-Cherkessia Bar Association, described the verdict as legal and fair. "It's no secret that acquittals are rare in Russia; they require great professionalism and courage from judges. "I would also like to thank all of Diana Tsipinova's defense lawyers involved in this case for their high level of professionalism and dedication to the legal community," the FPA quotes him as saying on its website.

Lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, who was detained in May 2020 for a solo picket in support of Tsipinova in Moscow, commenting on the verdict, said he was "very happy for my colleague." He believes the outcome of the retrial was influenced by the position of the leadership of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers.

"It's important to understand that in Russia, honest lawyers are both convicted and acquitted for purely political reasons. On the one hand, the government must give its oprichniks a green light. And therefore, disputes with them, with rare exceptions, end unfavorably for citizens. On the other hand, it seems the authorities aren't interested in completely eroding the last vestiges of respect for the top lawyers' superiors, who actively stood up for their colleague from the very beginning," Slovo Zashchite quotes him as saying. The Federal Chamber of Advocates also announced that Diana Tsipinova will be awarded the Sofia Kallistratova Gold Medal "For Human Rights Activity." The awards ceremony will take place on December 5 and will coincide with Lawyer's Day, according to the organization's Telegram channel. The "Caucasian Knot" reported that in May 2020, law enforcement detained lawyer Diana Tsipinova and her colleague Ratmir Zhilokov for 48 hours on suspicion of violence against police officers following a conflict in Nartkala. According to investigators, Ratmir Zhilokov behaved rudely toward police officers and physically assaulted one of them while trying to prevent them from leaving. They were taken to an establishment where gambling activities were allegedly taking place.

Diana Tsipinova was among three lawyers who volunteered to provide legal assistance to Zhilokov after his arrest; they arrived at the police station and were unable to get access to Zhilokov for 40 minutes. The security forces didn't like being filmed and "overpowered the lawyers and threw them out of the building," said Natalya Magova, who was present at the scene. Diana Tsipinova was taken into the building, handcuffed, and held until 7:00 a.m., she claims.

Investigators claim Tsipinova hit the police officers while trying to get to the detained Zhilokov. In protest, Diana Tsipinovadeclared a hunger strike in the Baksan detention center. Dozens of colleagues from Kabardino-Balkaria and other regions spoke out in defense of Tsipinova and Zhilokov: they called the use of force against the lawyers by law enforcement officers and their subsequent criminal prosecution an extraordinary, although not isolated case. The investigation insisted on taking Zhilokov and Tsipinova into custody, but the court rejected this motion. More than 50 of their colleagues came to the courthouse in Nalchik to support the lawyers, where the issue of a preventive measure was considered, according to a video report by the "Caucasian Knot" from May 31, 2020.