The first hearing in Yury DMITRIEV’s new trial was postponed on 27 September until next month, to allow the accused and his lawyer time to acquaint themselves, once again, with the case materials of his first trial [from 1 June 2017 to 5 April 2018]. The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, 17 October 2018, at the Petrozavodsk City Court.
Dmitriev in courtroom corridor, 27 September 2018 (photo, Sergei Myatukhin)
The [renewed] examination of the first criminal case against Yury Dmitriev, researcher into Stalin’s crimes and head of Memorial in Karelia, was due to begin today at the Petrozavodsk City Court, reports the popular local website Runa. It was held in closed session because it is considering evidence concerning the sexual inviolability of an under-age person. However, the hearing did not last long.
Soon Judge Alexander Merkov left the courtroom, followed by the convoy escorting Yury Dmitriev back to prison. Dmitriev’s lawyer Victor Anufriev then addressed the assembled journalists. The court had postponed the hearing until 19 October, he said, at the request of Yury Dmitriev who wanted to take another look at the case materials of his first trial. A preliminary hearing was yet to be held for the second criminal case brought against his client.
Victor Anufriev
“We must acquaint ourselves with the case materials of the first trial because they were compiled some time ago and we have forgotten a great deal. The court agreed with Yury Dmitriev’s petition and gave him more time. The later charges have not been considered thus far. I have submitted a petition for a preliminary hearing to be held.”
The lawyer would not say anything as yet about the results of the psychiatric examination to which Yury Dmitriev was subjected in St Petersburg this summer.
(Runa is a “new project of the Gubernia publishing house”, 2017)
The Dmitriev Affair 