Resonance

Lawyers of the former FSB lieutenant colonel do not believe in the objectivity of the Russian court

In the Moscow District Military Court, the hearing of the case of former FSB Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Trepashkin, which we recently wrote about ("MN" No. 44), has begun. He is accused of disclosing state secrets, abuse of office, and illegal possession of ammunition.

The trial has been declared closed, and journalists are not allowed to attend. It is impossible to obtain any information about the progress of the court session even from Trepashkin's lawyers — they were all required to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the investigation materials. The only thing they were able to report was that the prosecution filed a motion to summon 25 witnesses to court. In the first session, the court heard two of them. The lawyers stated: despite the fact that Trepashkin's health has significantly declined in the harsh conditions of the pre-trial detention center, he is actively participating in the process, in particular, asking questions to witnesses. A former FSB officer and now a lawyer, Trepashkin believes that the charge of disclosing state secrets is devoid of any grounds and refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement for the investigation materials.

A few days before his arrest, Trepashkin told the "MN" editorial office that the category of secret materials he is accused of disclosing included notes on the works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, which he made once during his studies at the KGB higher school. In view of the absurdity of the charges, these works were then apparently removed from the indictment, but others remained, no less ridiculous in Trepashkin's view.

The European Court will react urgently

The first attempt to send Trepashkin behind bars for disclosing state secrets failed — the case was closed; now they have taken it up with renewed energy.

The lawyer is convinced: domestic special services are trying to deal with him solely because he is actively participating in the investigation of the circumstances related to the bombings of residential buildings in Moscow in the autumn of 1999. Recall: Trepashkin led "MN" to Mark Blomgrenfeld — the owner of the basement who rented it to the main defendant in the bombing case — Achimez Gochiyayev. As Mr. Blomgrenfeld told the editorial office, Gochiyayev had nothing to do with the rental of the premises. The basement was rented to a completely different person. In the composite sketch originally drawn from Mr. Blomgrenfeld's words, Trepashkin recognized a certain Vladimir Romanov, a member of a criminal Chechen group that robbed Moscow banks and was suspected of ties to the FSB. After Trepashkin reported this to the Federal Security Service and handed over a photograph of Romanov he had preserved, the composite sketch published in the media was changed, and Romanov himself was allegedly killed by a car in Cyprus.

It is clear that such activity by the lawyer did not suit those who formed the official version of the investigation into the residential building bombings. Perhaps this was the real reason for Trepashkin's arrest two months ago, although the formal pretext was a pistol found in the lawyer's car. The detainee claims that the pistol was planted on him by traffic police officers during a search of the car.

Trepashkin's lawyer, Elena Liptser, filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. She is convinced that Trepashkin's right not to be subjected to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security of person under the European Convention on Human Rights, has been violated. As it became known, the court accepted the complaint, and an "urgent response" procedure will be applied to it.

Igor KOROLKOV

[Fragment of article on the right]

FORGERIES AND SWINDLERS
At the same time — as if on cue — two statements appeared on the Russian Internet, written as if from a carbon copy. Shamil Basaev on one of the Chechen separatist websites and former Chekist Alexander Litvinenko in the online publication "Grani.Ru" reported that they had passed "identifying data" on Terkibaev to Sergei Yushenkov. Considering that the separatist site often broadcasts Berezovsky's initiatives, and "Grani.Ru" is simply his property...

[Fragment at bottom right]

...Time has passed. Terkibaev's death coincided with the start of the trial in the case of Yushenkov's murder: the first hearings will take place on December 26. Myths surrounding the life and death of Sergei Yushenkov continue to multiply.
Mikhail GOKHMAN