Witnesses Against Ignatovich’s Gang Flee Court :: Charter'97 :: News

A closed process over the abduction of an ORT cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky hasn’t got underway yet: Dima’s episode comes last in the number of crimes that the suspects are indicted for. The case hearing, which lasted for three weeks now, is going at slow pace. They either cancel the court sessions or, at the very best, they cross-examine one or two witnesses and stop on that, as far as there’s no one else they can interrogate. It turns out as though the witnesses for the prosecution fear showing up in the courtroom.

As we know, the procuracy failed (or was simply unwilling) to investigate into the crimes to the full. However, finally it was pressured by the public opinion into handing over the unsolved matter to court, charging Ignatovich’s group with crimes that have little if anything to do with the actual kidnapping of Zavadsky. The jury keeps asking the suspects about everything, but the supposed murder of Zavadsky. It seems like this was the reason why they sought to unite Zavadsky’s case with other criminal episodes.

Under the law, it is the state prosecutor who must come up with the evidence (art.293/5 of the Penal Code). The procuracy has enough authority to do that. And the witnesses’ failure to turn up at court sounds like the purposeful wasting of time by the state procuracy.

Regrettably, there’s no way we can update and detail our readers on the course of the trial proceedings as such, for the process is kept strictly confidential. All we can to is gather the information by pieces.