A legal expert and a defense lawyer on the Dolgikh case: "He was behind bars, is behind bars and will be behind bars"

      "Samara is unlikely. More important — the indictment"

      Lawyer Yan Chebotaryov says bluntly: one should not expect the Dolgikh case to be moved out of Kirov: "No, certainly not. It's just that the procedure must be observed. The most important document is the indictment, which states exactly what the defendant is accused of and which facts the prosecution considers proven."

      According to him, so far only the court, the prosecution and the defense have seen this document, and it is what determines the whole course of events.

      Chebotaryov adds that the case is unusual in itself: part of the charges are built on linking Part 3 of Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("abuse of official powers that caused grave consequences") through Part 4 of Article 33 of the Criminal Code (instigation). Such constructions are extremely rare in practice and require particularly serious justification. "No grave consequences — no offense"

      Anton Dolgikh's lawyer, Violetta Volkova, speaks much more harshly. In her assessment, the investigation clearly overstepped in its qualification.

      Minor bribery (Art. 291.2 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

      According to Volkova, this episode should not have reached court at all. At most — a fine, and given the statute of limitations the case should be dismissed.

      Instigation to abuse of authority (Art. 33 Part 4 — Art. 285 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

      As the lawyer states, there are simply no "grave consequences" in the case materials. And without them Part 3 of Article 285 is inapplicable.

      "Double charging"

      A separate complaint by the defense is the duplication of qualifications. When the same conduct is fitted to different offenses, this, according to Volkova, violates the principle "non bis in idem" (the prohibition on being punished twice for the same act).

      On preventive measures

      According to the defense, the mention of "grave consequences" is used only as an argument to extend the arrest, but there is no real substance behind this wording.

      Not by chance Volkova herself puts it very bluntly: "He sat, he sits and he will sit."

      What is Dolgikh accused of?

      Article 291.2 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — minor bribery. Illegal remuneration up to 10,000 rubles. Punishment — a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or up to one year of imprisonment.

      Article 285 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — abuse of official powers with grave consequences. This usually concerns major losses or disruption of government bodies' work. Punishment — up to 10 years' imprisonment.

      Article 33 Part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — instigation. That is, the charge alleges that Dolgikh induced an official to commit abuse.

      In conclusion, lawyer Chebotaryov sees a rare and interesting set of charges in the case for practice, but doubts the prospects of the "Samara story". Lawyer Volkova is certain: the investigation overreached in its qualification, "grave consequences" were pulled in, and procedural violations are obvious. While the lawyers argue, Dolgikh himself continues to sit in pretrial detention (SIZO) and wait for which kind of justice will "come knocking" on him.