On September 29th, Judge Petr Shtunder of the Moscow City Court granted Igor Sutyagin’s motion for a jury trial. The jury selection will begin on November 3, 2003. This is the first time a treason case in the Russian Federation will be considered by a jury. Igor Sutyagin, a researcher from the U.S. and Canada Institute, accused by the Russian Security Service, FSB, of treason. Sutyagin denies any wrongdoing. (03-OCT-03)
At the same session the judge denied defense’s motion to release Igor Sutyagin from jail for the time of the hearings. Igor will remain in jail, where he has already spent almost four years.
Another motion of the defense denied by the judge was to return the indictment back to prosecutors for correction. The defense pointed out that the charges in the current indictment are not specific and therefore very difficult to defend against. The judge, however, ordered the case to proceed.
Photo: www.hro.org
&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F){kind=link}