From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 12/14/2005 2:32 AM
12.12.2005 16:28 MSK
Trial over Stanislav Dmitriyevsky
Stanislav Dmitriyevsky
Stanislav Dmitriyevsky
RUSSIA, Nizhny Novgorod. (Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Information Centre). On 7 December, Sovetsky District Court in Nizhny Novgorod continued to hear a criminal case against Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, editor-in-chief of Pravo-zaschita newspaper and executive director of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. He is accused of inciting racial, ethnic and social hostility.

Galina Vronskaya, senior lecturer at the chair of journalism of Chuvashia State University and president of the Guild of Linguistic Experts of Chuvashia, acted as an expert witness for the defence at the trial. She told the court that in her appraisal, the publications, that Dmitriyevsky has been incriminated with, contain no degrading descriptions, negative appraisals or statements in relation to racial, ethnic or social groups or individuals representing them. The expert drew the court’s attention to the fact that the offending publications contain many facts that in themselves cannot be regarded as inciting any kind of hostility unless proven untrue. "But these are the matters for historians, sociologists and other specialists as they are not the subject of language study," stressed Vronskaya.

The court also heard other witnesses for the defence: Usam Baisayev, member of Nazran office of Memorial Human Rights Centre, who wrote a number of books and reports on human rights situation in Chechen Republic, and Igor Kalyapin, president of regional NGO Committee Against Torture. Both witnesses gave detailed accounts of the cases of massacre of civilian population in Chechnya, indiscriminate bombings, extra-judicial executions, torture and abductions, known to them, that were committed by members of Russian security forces. Both witnesses agreed that in view of these facts, Aslan Makhadov had reasons to describe the individuals, who perpetrated these actions, in such emotive and stark terms as "invaders" and "terrorists" and their crimes as "an outrage". They also told the court about the response of the Chechen population to Pravo-zashchita newspaper edited by Dmitriyevsky. In their words, the newspaper helped to overcome the climate of distrust and hostility between the Russians and the Chechens. According to Baisayev, the Chechens who saw the newspaper for the first time were inevitably surprised that there are Russian people across the country who care about their pain and suffering and the fate of the Chechen people. It convinced them that the crimes committed by individual members of the Russian armed forces acting on behalf of the state cannot be regarded as crimes of the Russian people. The witnesses spoke at length about the help provided by Russian-Chechen Friendship Society to the Chechen children. Kalyapin quoted from essays written by the schoolchildren who visited Nizhny Novgorod on invitation from Dmitriyevsky: "we visited Nezhnyi [Gentle] Novgorod", "we had a ride on the helicopter that doesn’t shoot".

Dmitriyevsky was represented in court by two lawyers from different ethnic backgrounds: Yury Sidorov, who is Russian, and Leila Khamzayeva, who is Chechen. They come from the ethnic groups between whom, the prosecution claims, Dmitriyevsky incited hostility.

The court building was picketed by some 30 members of pro-Putin movement Nashi (Our People), who held a placard saying: "Terrorist cannot be a peacekeeper", and also by several residents of Nizhny Novgorod, who took part in hostilities in Chechnya. Protesters demanded maximum sentence for Dmitriyevsky. However, the authorities refused permission to stage picket in support of Dmitriyevsky citing the law that prohibits undue pressure on court.

It was reported that on 2 September 2005, Stanislav Dmitriyevsky was charged under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code with "actions aiming to incite hatred or hostility, and likewise to degrade an individual or a group of individuals on the basis of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude to religion, and likewise affiliation to a social group". The article stipulates the punishment of up to five years in prison. Criminal case against Dmitriyevsky was brought in January 2005 after Pravo-zashchita newspaper had published appeals by Aslan Maskhadov and Akhmed Zakayev calling to peaceful resolution of the Russian-Chechen conflict. The publication contained sharp criticism of actions by the Russian leadership, Russian armed forces and personally by President Putin. Human rights activists believe that the charges against Dmitriyevsky are politically motivated and aim to abolish freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. On 15 November Amnesty International issued an open statement expressing concern at a campaign of harassment against RCFS from various state bodies and stated that if Dmitriyevsky is found guilty of the charges, he would be considered to be a prisoner of conscience.

Earlier, former Russian Ombudsman Serghei Kovalyov spoke at the trial as a witness for the defence.

Translated by Olga Sharp
PRIMA-News Agency [2005-12-09-Rus-36]
http://www.prima-news.ru/eng/news/news/2005/12/12/34343.html