Paul Goble
Vienna, May 27 – Stung by the victories Russian citizens have won against it in the European Court of Human Rights and infuriated by a recent decision of that court against a Soviet Russian soldier who had killed civilians in Latvia during World War II, Moscow is seeking lawyers who will "defend the interests of Russia in Strasbourg.”
The Ministry of Justice is seeking two such lawyers and will select them on the basis of an open competition in which interested legal specialists will prepare a notional "defense memorandum” against appeals by Russians concerning violations of their rights, "Kommersant” reports today (www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1375901&NodesID=7).
The ministry is prepared to conclude contracts with the two victors for the period extending to December20, 2010, and to pay each of them as much as 7,500,000 rubles (250,000 US dollars) for their ...
A Moscow region investigator faces negligence charges after businesswoman Vera Trifonova, 53, died in pretrial detention, the Investigative Committee said Tuesday.
A criminal investigation has been opened into Sergei Pysin, who worked on Trifonova’s case, the committee said in a statement. If charged, Pysin could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
"Trifonova’s lawyer repeatedly appealed to the investigator asking to change her pretrial restrictions because of her worsening health condition,” the statement said.
Trifonova’s lawyer, Vladimir Zherebyonkov, has accused Pysin of keeping Trifonova — who was diabetic, nearly blind and suffered fr om kidney failure — in jail to force a confession.
Trifonova died Friday at the same prison hospital wh ere Sergei Magnitsky, 37, a lawyer for Hermitage Capital, died under similar circumstances in November.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin to investigate Trifonova’s death on Saturday. Trifonova ...
