Four Bolotnaya case defendants guilty - court verdict
MOSCOW. Aug 18 (Interfax) - The Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow on Monday issued a guilty verdict against four defendants in the criminal case over mass riots in Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012, according to a verdict issued by judge Natalya Susina, an Interfax correspondent reported.
On the dock are four people: Alexei Gaskarov, Alexander Margolin, Ilya Gushchin and Yelena Kokhtareva.
According to the verdict, Gaskarov and Margolin have been sentenced to three and a half years at a medium-security prison, Gushchin to two and a half years, and Kokhtareva got a suspended sentence of three years and three months with a three-year probation period.
The defense team has already vowed to appeal the guilty verdict. "We will definitely appeal today's court verdict," said Svetlana Sidorkina, a lawyer for one of the defendants.
The verdict issued by the Zamoskvoretsky court will not take effect until considered by an appellate court.
Sidorkina added that after the case is heard by a higher court, the Moscow City Court, the defense team will file a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
"After the appeal hearing, a complaint will be sent to the ECHR," the lawyer said.
The May 6, 2012 opposition rally, which was agreed with the Moscow authorities, escalated into clashes between demonstrators and police. Over 400 people were arrested as a result.
On the same day, police opened a criminal case over "inciting mass disturbances" and "use of violence with respect to a representative of the authorities." In January 2013, the case was merged with another into the plotting of mass riots across Russia.
There were 29 defendants in the case. Convictions in 2012-2013 included Maxim Luzyanin (four and a half years of imprisonment), Konstantin Lebedev (two and half years at a medium-security prison) and Mikhail Kosenko (found guilty and sent into forced treatment).
On February 24, 2014, a court convicted Alexander Naumov (Dukhanin) (three years and three months with a three-year probation period), Y. Belousov and Artyom Savelov (two years six months and two years seven months, respectively), Andrei Barabanov (three years seven months), Stepan Zimin, Denis Lutskevich and Alexei Polikhovich (three years six months) and Sergei Krivov (four years).
The case against Leonid Razvozzhayev and Sergei Udaltsov was heard separately by a panel of three judges from the Moscow City Court. On July 24 the court found them guilty of organizing mass disturbances and sentenced each to four and a half years at a medium-security prison.