Livewire - Amnesty International blogging for human rights

Friederike Behr blogs from Russia

It is the fourth week of the trial, and journalists, lawyers and victims greet each other nearly like old friends. They have a cigarette together or chat together in the corridors of the court building, every now and then being reminded to keep their voices low in order not to disturb the other hearings going on at the same time. The journalists comment on each others reporting and whether they would be satisfied with the evidence provided so far, were they members of the jury.

From my corner on the bench among the journalists I can see the jury is really focussed on what is being said and shown to them. They are made up of middle-aged men and women, several of them obviously from the Caucasus or other non-Russian ethnicity.

This week they heard evidence from business man Eduard Ponikarov, who was allegedly detained and ill-treated by two of the defendants in 2002. Police officer Sergei Khadzhimuratov and FSB officer Pavel Riaguzov were charged with abuse of official authority in regards to Eduard Ponikarov.

The case had been closed earlier by the authorities on the grounds that there was no evidence the law enforcement officials had acted unlawfully. Only when Pavel Riaguzov was detained and questioned in connection with the murder of Anna Politkovskaya did this case come up again. Now, charges of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya have been dropped, but Pavel Riaguzov sits in the cage for the defendants because of another crime he is accused of having committed with Sergei Khadzhimuratov.

When Eduard Ponikarov told the jury that his scared wife and screaming children had to watch while he was being kicked and beaten, several jury members cried.

After questioning Eduard Ponikarov’s wife as a witness, the Office of the General Prosecutor announced that it had finished its presentation of evidence in the case.

Next week, the defence will present their arguments and their witnesses.