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Review of Opposition activist's appeal open to media

Earlier reports said the court would meet behind closed doors, because of the request by the court of original jurisdiction

MOSCOW, November 7 (Itar-Tass) — The Moscow City Court began to review the appeal against the arrest of Leonid Razvozzhayev, an aide to a State Duma lawmaker. Razvozzhayev is accused of involvement in the plans to stage mass disturbances.

Earlier reports said the court would meet behind closed doors, because of the request by the court of original jurisdiction.

In the beginning of the hearing, the court met the petition by lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky to attach a number of documents to the case. These include a document from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. According to the document, Razvozzhayev had come to the office to submit an application to seek the refugee status in Ukraine. He left the office for a break and never returned. Also, the court is to examine a statement by an office employee who claimed she had seen Razvozzhayev's abduction.

The court also received the personal guarantee from State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov for his aide.

On Wednesday, the Moscow City Court was expected to consider the appeal by Konstantin Lebedev, an aide to Left Front Coordinator Sergei Udaltsov. However, his lawyer said on Tuesday that the appeal had been revoked at his client's wish, who "does not believe that the Moscow City Court may overturn the decision by the city's Basmanny court."

Sergei Udaltsov, Leonid Razvozzhayev and Konstantin Lebedev are suspects in the case over preparations to stage mass disturbances. Criminal proceedings were instituted over the facts shown in the Anatomy of Protest-2 film, which featured a scene where they were discussing the possibility to stage riots in Moscow and Russian regions.

The meeting, captured by a spycam, took place in Minsk, and involved chairman of the Georgian parliament's committee for defense and security Givi Targamadze, Georgia's consul in Moldova Mikhail Iashvili, their three aides, as well as Udaltsov, Lebedev and Razvozzhayev.

Udaltsov is on recognizance, and Lebedev and Razvozzhayev have been placed under arrest.

Razvozzhayev was put on the federal wanted list. On October 21, he turned himself in to the authorities. He later claimed that he had been kidnapped in Kiev and subjected to torturers for two days.

Subsequent reports said Razvozzhayev had withdrawn his testimony and admission of guilt. The Investigative Committee underlined that it had sufficient evidence against Razvozzhayev without his testimony.

Udaltsov and Ponomaryov repeatedly denied the riot plans. None of the defendants pleaded guilty.

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