{"id":5654,"date":"2020-06-18T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/?p=5654"},"modified":"2020-06-24T12:14:25","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T09:14:25","slug":"the-network-trial-in-petersburg-closing-statements-by-defendants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/2020\/06\/18\/the-network-trial-in-petersburg-closing-statements-by-defendants\/","title":{"rendered":"The Network Trial in Petersburg: Closing Statements by Defendants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"ter2-fil-joke\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Network Trial defendant Viktor Filinkov tells a joke: \u201cA programmer, a businessman, and an industrial climber planned to overthrow the government.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Penza Case in Petersburg: Closing Statements<\/strong>
Mediazona<\/a>
June 18, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trial of the \u201cNetwork terrorist community,\u201d<\/a> whose alleged members have been charged with violating Article 205.4.2 of the Criminal Code, is winding down in Petersburg. The Second Western Military District Court has heard the case made by the prosecution, who asked the court to sentence Viktor Filinkov and Yuli Boyarshinov to nine and six years in prison, respectively. The court has also heard the cases made by the defense teams for both defendants. Today, Filinkov and Boyarshinov made their closing statements.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10:48 a.m.<\/strong>
At the previous hearing, on June 17, the prosecution and the defense made their closing arguments. Prosecutor Alexander Vasilenko asked the court to sentence Filinkov to nine years in a medium security penal colony, and Boyarshinov to six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense team of Boyarshinov, who pleaded guilty, asked the court to make note of their client\u2019s \u201cinactive\u201d role in the events described by the prosecution and sentence himrs to no more than four years and five months in prison and not impose a fine on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ter1-boyar<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A scene from the courtroom in Petersburg: Yuli Boyarshinov\u2019s lawyers are in the foreground.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In line with their defendant, Filinkov\u2019s defense team insisted that his guilt had not been proven by investigators, and the documents that formed the basis of the indictment against him had been falsified by FSB officers. Defense lawyer Vitaly Cherkasov reminded the court of the circumstances of the arrest of Filinkov, who spoke in detail about being tortured [by FSB officers].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:20 a.m.<\/strong>
The three-judge panel [troika<\/em>], led by Roman Muranov, enters the courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court allows Filinkov to make a closing argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI apologize in advance to everyone involved in the trial: I will be repeating the arguments of my defense lawyers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov intends to \u201cgo through the indictment.\u201d He begins by saying that none of the witnesses identified him as [the alleged Network\u2019s] \u201csignalman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI assume this is yet another fantasy on the part of [Petersburg FSB investigator Gennady] Belyaev or [Petersburg FSB field officer Konstantin] Bondarev [who arrested and tortured Filinkov]. How I am supposed to defend myself from this?\u201d Filinkov asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says that he had not seen some of the documents in the case file before. He is probably referring to the documents identified as \u201cThe Network Code\u201d and \u201cCongress 2017.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhom did I provide with means of communication? None of the witnesses said anything about it, and only the defense questioned the witnesses about it,\u201d Filinkov says emotionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:24 a.m.<\/strong>
\u201cI didn\u2019t vet anyone, I didn\u2019t select anyone, I didn\u2019t recruit anyone,\u201d says Filinkov in response to the next charge in the indictment: that he had selected people for the \u201cterrorist community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov quotes the indictment: \u201cFilinkov, Boyarshinov, Pchelintsev, and Shishkin were directly involved in joint training sessions.\u201d Filinkov says that Shishkov was not involved in the training sessions, and Boyarshinov participated in only two events. And in any case, they studied first aid, not capturing other people or storming buildings or shooting firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:31 a.m.<\/strong>
\u201c\u2018Clandestine Security\u2019\u2014page 3 of the indictment. What did this \u2018elaborate system of security\u2019 consist of? Three methods are mentioned in the seventeen volumes of the criminal case file: aliases, PGP encryption<\/a>, and Jabber,\u201d says Filinkov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov lists the aliases and says they were not means of conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Redhead\u2019 [Penza Network defendant Maxim Ivankin]: I saw him, and he\u2019s a redhead\u2014that\u2019s very conspiratorial. \u2018Twin\u2019: as far as know, he has a twin brother,\u201d says Filinkov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov moves on to PGP encryption. He explains that, in practice, the two or three keys used for such emails consist of a few \u201cvery, very large\u201d numbers that cannot be memorized, so they are stored on the computer. Filinkov also notes that the message\u2019s subject, sender and recipient are not encrypted\u2014only the text of the message is encrypted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ter3-fil-email\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Viktor Filinkov gives a short primer on how email works\u2014before the head judge cuts him off.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:35 a.m.<\/strong>
Judge Muranov interrupts Filinkov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need a lecture about encryption programs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defendant tries to reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe prosecutor doesn\u2019t understand how it works\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another judge intervenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen you get together with him and explain it,\u201d says the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt provides privacy, but it doesn\u2019t provide secrecy,\u201d he says, now in reference to the Jabber protocol<\/a> for messengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:41 a.m.<\/strong>
\u201cIt\u2019s built on fantasies\u2014that\u2019s exactly how the \u2018Network terrorist community\u2019 was created,\u201d Filinkov continues. \u201cAnd it was badly built to boot. There are incorrect dates [in the case file], and [Penza FSB investigator Vyacheslav] Shepelyov [tampered] with the [text] files.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filinkov recalls how he, Igor Shishkin, and Ilya Kapustin<\/a> were tortured, and mentions the verdict and sentence in the Penza trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand the prosecutor\u2019s position. I expected him to drop the charges,\u201d Filinkov says. \u201cHe won\u2019t look at me. I can\u2019t expect a response from him, can I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:42 a.m.<\/strong>
\u201cThink a little before you speak,\u201d Judge Muranov tells Filinkov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChoose your words carefully,\u201d adds another judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t consider myself guilty, and I ask you to acquit me,\u201d Filinkov concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:44 a.m.<\/strong>
Boyarshinov\u2019s closing statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in jail for two and a half years now. I can\u2019t say that this prison experience has been totally negative. Isolation has taught me to love people and freedom even more, to appreciate even more my loved ones, who have supported me all this time. So, I want to use my closing statement to thank the people who have supported me: my parents, my spouse, and all my close friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ter4-boyar-closing\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to underscore once more that I have never held terrorist views, neither t hen nor now. I am sorry for what I did, and nI\u2019m glad that my activities caused no actual harm to other people. I ask the court not to punish me harshly. That is all.\u201dDefendant Yuli Boyarshinov\u2019s closing statement was so short that artist Anna Tereshkina didn\u2019t have time to finish her sketch.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:49 a.m.<\/strong>
Filinkov\u2019s closing statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe nine years in prison the prosecutor has requested are probably a token of respect for what I\u2019ve been doing. This is what occurred to me about [Yegor] Zorin\u2019s<\/a> testimony: five narcotic substances were found in his blood when he was examined, but only two narcotic substances were found on his person\u2014MDMA and marijuana. Neither MDMA or marijuana was found in his blood, however, while the five substances that were found were other synthetic drugs. Due to my circumstances, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to talk to drug lords, and they have told me that synthetic drugs are quickly flushed from the bloodstream, and if [Zorin] had used marijuana, it would have remained in his blood. I would guess that the FSB officers knew that Zorin<\/a> was a drug user, so they planted MDMA and marijuana on his person, thinking they were popular drugs. But they guessed wrong: he was using neither the one nor the other. It\u2019s hard to believe that he drove around for a year [with these drugs on his person] and didn\u2019t use them, while using everything else in sight. In a situation like that, you have to have courage to turn yourself in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for the other [suspects and defendants in the case] who confessed and testified\u2014Yuli [Boyarshinov] and Igor [Shiskin]\u2014they acted pragmatically. They didn\u2019t believe that any other outcome was possible. I understand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ter5-guard\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to mention everyone who has been exposed in this case. First of all were the Petersburg FSB, the Penza FSB, and the Interior Ministry [the regular police], which carried out the orders of FSB officers without hesitation, without asking any questions. Then there wasthe prosecutor\u2019s office, which has only been good for giving me the runaround and bringing in a colonel [as trial prosecutor] to read aloud from a piece of paper, refuse to respond to me, and ask the court to sentence me to nine years. I don\u2019t understand whether [the prosecutor\u2019s office] is independent or not. What happened to the ten years I was promised? The FSB officers promised to send me down for ten years. It is unclear whose initiative this is [to sentence Filinkov to nine years]. Is the prosecutor\u2019s office or the FSB behind it? It basically doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen there was the Investigative Committee, whose employees sent [Filinkov\u2019s complaints of torture] from one place to the next, losing all the evidence in the process. There were the employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service, who refused to document the injuries [suffered by Filinkov and other defendants when they were tortured by the FSB], who promised that video recordings would not be lost, but then it turned out they had been deleted. There were the courts that remanded us in custody and extended our arrests. There were the legislators who made up such laws. All of them have disgraced themselves. I don\u2019t know what the solution to this situation is. That is all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:50 a.m.<\/strong>
The verdict in the case will be announced at 12:00 p.m. on June 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ter6-kulak<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Viktor Filinkov\u2019s defense team: Yevgenia Kulakov and Vitaly Cherkasov<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12:04 p.m.<\/strong>
After the hearing, Filinkov\u2019s defense team, Vitaly Cherkasov and Yevgenia Kulakova<\/a>, said that, during the closing arguments, the prosecutor cited documents that had not even been read out in court, which is forbidden by the criminal procedure code, and attributed statements to Filinkov that he had never made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All illustrations by Anna Tereshkina<\/a>, who writes<\/a>, \u201cViktor Filinkov and Yuli Boyarshinov made their closing statements today, and before that Viktor took part in the closing arguments. His eloquent speech, which disarmed all the scoundrels, made an incredible impression. Everyone whom he listed really has disgraced themselves, and they stand before all of us dirty, confused, and unable to do anything about it.\u201d Thanks for Ms. Tereshkina\u2019s kind permission to reprint her drawings here. Translated by the Russian Reader<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Network Trial defendant Viktor Filinkov tells a joke: \u201cA programmer, a businessman, and an industrial climber planned to overthrow the government.\u201d The Penza Case in Petersburg: Closing StatementsMediazonaJune 18, 2020 The trial of the \u201cNetwork terrorist community,\u201d whose alleged members have been charged with violating Article 205.4.2 of the Criminal Code, is winding down in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-novosti"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5661,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5654\/revisions\/5661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}