The accused Valery Markelov noticeably “gives up” from hearing to hearing: his defense repeatedly called an ambulance to court so that, having received an injection of painkillers, he could participate in the hearing after being transported from the pre-trial detention center. Just the other day, Markelov was diagnosed with cancer, which he most likely acquired during the trial (he has been in custody for 44 months).
The meeting, which began an hour late, opened with a short speech from the state prosecutor: she requested an extension of the preventive measure for the defendants until July 21. She was immediately objected to by Markelov’s lawyers, who confirmed the information that specialists had diagnosed him with pancreatic cancer with multiple metastases. In view of these circumstances, they asked the court to transfer their client from the pre-trial detention center, where he could not receive the treatment that was required immediately.
Lawyers for Belevtsov and Kritinin also asked the court to change the measure of restraint for their clients, calling their detention unjustified, especially considering that the circumstances of the case, as well as the testimony of witnesses, were presented, so Kritinin and Belevtsov would not be able to influence the course of the trial and the verdict. Judge Sergei Artemov refused to reduce the preventive measure for all three and left the defendants in custody until July 21.
After this decision was announced, Markelov’s defense called an expert – financier Sergei Efimov. The essence of his speech boiled down to the fact that the case materials do not contain primary accounting documents reflecting cash transactions, therefore, based solely on the “Site” tables, one cannot say that any funds were transferred to someone’s address at all.
The next meeting is scheduled for April 27. It will decide on the end of the judicial investigation and the transition to debate. The Cheka-OGPU will monitor events.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
