On Thursday 14 June, the Supreme Court of Karelia will hear several appeals in the Dmitriev case (his defence lawyer Victor Anufriev told the Karelian internet newspaper Stolitsa na Onego). Anufriev intends to secure the dismissal of the charge that his client unlawfully possessed parts of a weapon.
The Petrozavodsk city prosecutor’s office has also submitted an appeal against the verdict of the City Court. The conclusions drawn by the court do not reflect the factual materials of the case, says the prosecutor’s office. The Petrozavodsk city prosecutor Yelena Askerova considers that a number of rules of the Criminal Procedural Code were infringed, as well. The appeal calls for the acquittal to be quashed. In court, Askerova demanded nine years’ imprisonment in a strict-regime penal colony for YURY DMITRIEV.
As previously reported, Dmitriev was accused under three Articles of the Russian Federation Criminal Code: “Using a Minor for the Purpose of making Pornographic Materials or Objects” (Article 242.2); “Depraved Actions against a Person who has reached Twelve Years of Age” (Article 135, part 2); and unlawful possession of the parts of a firearm.
Yury Dmitriev in the corridor of the Petrozavodsk courthouse
On 5 April, Judge Marina Nosova of the Petrozavodsk City Court acquitted Dmitriev of two of the charges, declaring him guilty only of the unlawful possession of basic parts of a weapon. Taking into consideration the time he had already spent in detention, he was sentenced to three months’ restriction on his movements.
The investigators claim that from 2008 to 2015 Dmitriev repeatedly photographed his under-age adopted daughter in the nude for the purpose of making pornographic materials. Furthermore, the accused had unlawfully possessed parts of a single-barrelled shotgun for hunting.
Dmitriev and his lawyer declared that the photographs in the criminal case were a health diary of his adopted daughter.
Dmitriev was arrested in December 2016 but released in January 2018 on condition that he did not leave Petrozavodsk. He did not admit his guilt. The case stirred wide public interest.
Stolitsa na Onego
16 May 2018
NOTE
The 2018 Football World Cup begins on Thursday, 14 June, at 6 pm local time, with a match in Moscow between Russia and Saudi Arabia. (The Final will be played in Moscow on 15 July.)
The Dmitriev Affair 