Nizhni Novgorod court to announce verdict on Stanislav Dmitrievskiy's case behind closed doors

It has just become known that no observers are being let into room No 40 of the Soviet district court in Nizhni Novgorod where at 12.30 p.m., after a break, Judge Vitaly Bondarenko is expected to announce the verdict on the "Dmitrievskiy's" case.

Defendant's lawyers and relatives alone are allowed to attend the announcement of the verdict. Stanislav Dmitrievskiy himself refuses to enter the court room claiming violations of the right to open court hearing guaranteed by the RF Constitution.

For reference, today, a court session at the Soviet district court in Nizhni Novgorod on the criminal case against Stanislav Dmitrievskiy, executive director of "Russian-Chechen Friendship Society" and chief editor of the "Pravozaschita" newspaper, started at 10 a.m. The session started with Dmitrievskiy's last plea. He spoke about half an hour. The announcement of the verdict was appointed at 12.30 p.m., reports the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society.

For reference, the "Nashi" movement and Moscow human rights activists hold pickets by the building of Soviet district court in Nizhni Novgorod.

The picket in support of Dmitrievskiy with the slogan "No strive for peace should come under trial" is being held by "Memorial," the Committee for Civil Assistance and the "Public Verdict" foundation. Svetlana Gannushkina ("Memorial") and Sergey Kovalev, chair of Russian "Memorial", have come to Nizhni Novgorod.

The picket of the "Nashi" movement against Dmitrievskiy is being held under the motto "We must remember: during 10 years 1,400 citizens of our country have been killed by terrorists," reports "Gazeta.Ru".

Human rights activists consider that the trial of Stanislav Dmitrievskiy bears a political character, they disagree with the arguments of the prosecution and the course of the court proceedings. Having an aim to attract the public attention to the Dmitrievskiy's case, the human rights activists conduct an action of public control. After the verdict is announced, representatives of human rights organizations will hold a briefing for journalists in front of the Soviet district court building in Nizhni Novgorod.

For reference, on September 2, 2005, Dmitrievskiy was charged under article 282 of RF CC, "actions aimed at stirring hate or hostility, or at humiliation of dignity of a person or a group of persons on the basis of sex, race, nationality, attitude to religion or membership in a social group." The article prescribes a punishment up to five years of imprisonment. The prosecution asked the court for a punishment of four years in a penal colony for Stanislav Dmitrievskiy.

The criminal proceedings were initiated in January this year after the publication in "Pravozaschita" (Human Rights Protection) newspaper of the address of Aslan Maskhadov and Ahmed Zakaev with calls for a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Chechen conflict.

The publications contained sharp critics of the actions by Russian leadership, Russian armed forces and personally by President Vladimir Putin. The human rights activists believe the charges to Dmitrievskiy to be politically motivated and aimed at liquidation of the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of speech.

On November 15, "International Amnesty" made an open statement in which it expresses its concern about the pressure campaign led by various state institutions with regard to the RChFS and announced its intention to consider Dmitrievskiy prisoner of conscience in case he is convicted.