Defence treats verdict to newspaper employees in Rostov Region as unjustified

The verdict to Elena Pivovarova, the editor-in-chief of the Bataysk newspaper, and to Ekaterina Avakova, the chief accountant thereof, will be appealed against, their defence has stated. After the verdict, the issue of documenting the guardianship over the convicts' children was raised, Vera Yuzhanskaya, a journalist, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 11, the Bataysk City Court found Elena Pivovarova, a former editor-in-chief of the local newspaper "Vperyod" (Forward), and Ekaterina Avakova, the paper's chief accountant, guilty of embezzlement and fraud. Pivovarova was sentenced to 4.5 years, and Avakova to four years in penal colony.

According to investigators, Pivovarova provided false information about the newspaper's circulation.

The verdict will be challenged, Olga Trofimova, a Pivovarova’s advocate, has promised. She has noted that Avakova has no relatives nearby to take custody over her 16-year-old daughter, who is not entirely healthy.

“Unfortunately, the court has completely disregarded these defendants' life aspects,” the advocate has complained.

Vera Yuzhanskaya, the editor-in-chief of the Rostov newspaper "Nashe Vremya" (Our Time), has treated the sentence to her colleagues as excessively harsh. "Firstly, an unprecedentedly cruel punishment, even if we assume that there was some guilt. Both have minor children left without guardianship. Secondly, they had committed no fraudulent actions. No proofs of their guilt were presented, only some indirect facts," she has stated, noting that the women have no money reserves, nothing to feed their families, although they are accused of allegedly enriching themselves.

“Pivovarova’s husband died during the investigation into her case. He burned out in six months from illness due to this nightmare,” Vera has added.

The persecution of Pivovarova is not of a political nature, but is related to the problem of the journalists receiving funding from the state budget, Dmitry Abrosimov, a political analyst, has pointed out.