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Tajik lawyer of Russian pilots drafts cassation appeal

"I am sure that my clients are not guilty. I shall insist on the repeal of the unjust sentence, using all the legal means at my disposal," lawyer stressed

DUSHANBE, November 10 (Itar-Tass) —— Gulyam Babayev, Tajik lawyer of Vladimir Sadovnichy and Alexei Rudenko – two pilots of a Russian air company, has drafted a cassation appeal against the verdict of guilty, delivered by the court of the city of Kurgan Tyube, and is going to forward it on Friday. He told Itar-Tass about it by telephone on Thursday.

“My stand has not been changed: I am sure that my clients are not guilty. I shall insist on the repeal of the unjust sentence, using all the legal means at my disposal,” he stressed.

According to Babayev, he and the pilots, who are kept in an investigation prison, are receiving full information about the response of Russia and Estonia (Rudenko is a national of Estonia) to the verdict, which are working to secure their release, using diplomatic channels.

According to the latest report, the prosecutor-general of Tajikistan is going to hold an emergency press conference on Thursday. The representative of the Tajik judicial system refused to comment on the verdict, but made it clear that the topic of the press conference would be the situation around the Russian pilots.

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