Moscow City Court Judge Sergei Podoprigorov, who is currently hearing a treason and “forgery” case on the Russian military in relation to politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, appealed to the US Department of Justice with a request excluding “”. Kara-Murza’s lawyer Vadim Prokhorov informed Layout about this.
According to the publication, Podoprigorov applied for the US Treasury in 2018. In his appeal, which British-Australian Herbert Smith Freehills, one of the most expensive law firms in these countries, helped him draft. Podoprigorov insisted he was named by chance in the case of auditor Sergei Magnitsky in 2008 because he was the duty judge that day. According to him, the same thing happened in 2009, when Podoprigorov made the decision to extend Magnitsky’s arrest – a few months later the listener died at SIZO-1 in Moscow.
In turn, Podoprigorov, in an appeal to the US Department, said he acted in accordance with Russian law and that Magnitsky’s medical certificates did not contain any evidence that he suffered from a serious illness.
At the same time, lawyer Vadim Prokhorov believes that Podoprigorov is responsible not only for the persecution and death of Magnitsky, but also for concealing the budget of those involved in the embezzlement scheme, disclosed by the auditor . So it was Podoprigorov who in 2009 sentenced Viktor Markelov to five years in prison without fine, finding him guilty of embezzling 5.4 billion rubles.
Nestka also recalls that Kara-Murza, whose case is currently being heard by Podoprigorov, participated in the creation of the “Magnitsky list”, because of which the judge was under US sanctions. The politician’s defense twice tried to divert Podoprigorov from the case. In both cases, the judge dismissed his own challenge.
Vladimir Kara-Murza has been under arrest since April 2022. Initially he stopped for 15 days under the disobedience to police section. So for politics excited the case of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army. In July became knownthat a new criminal case has been opened against the politician under the article on the activities of an “undesirable” organization for working with the Open Russia Foundation. In October Kara-Murza accused also under the article on treason.
On April 6, the prosecution asked for Kara-Murza, a sentence of 25 years in prison is the maximum sentence that a court can impose in the case of a politician. In turn, lawyer Maria Eismont said The “First Department” that the prosecutor demanded four years for the politician for participating in the activities of an undesirable organization, nine years for “false” about the Russian army and 18 years under the article on treason.