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Prosecutor asks 14 years imprisonment for Kvachkov

The retired colonel and another defendant Alexander Kiselyov were charged under the RF Criminal Code article “an attempt to organise an armed rebellion”
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, February 4 (Itar-Tass) – The prosecutor has demanded 14 years in prison for retired GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff) Colonel Vladimir Kvachkov, accused of trying to prepare an armed rebellion.

“I request the penal sanction for Kvachkov in the form of 14 years of deprivation of freedom in a tight security penal colony,” Public Prosecutor Alexander Remizov stated during the sides’ pleadings in the Moscow City Court.

For the second defendant Alexander Kiselyov the prosecutor demanded 12 years in a tight security colony and for both – supervised release for a period of 2 years after they serve the sentence.

The prosecutor also asked to derive the defendants of their military ranks.

“Certainly, the court must take into account everything when making its decision – the personal records, the age of the defendants, health status and also the fact they were did not accomplish the crime,” Remizov said, noting that the they are charged with an especially grave crime.

The public prosecution side considers the guilt of the defendants fully proven. “I believe that during the judicial investigation the facts that have been established during the preliminary investigation were confirmed,” the prosecutor said.

According to the indictment, Kvachkov involved in the implementation of his plans a number of persons, including second defendant in the case Alexander Kiselyov, and gave them the corresponding instructions. “In particular, he charged them with the task to find people in Moscow for organising an armed rebellion. His proxy Manrik was selecting people and they were undergoing military training at a training range in Myakinino,” Remizov said.

He also stressed that Kvachkov conducted the same activity in St. Petersburg and Samara.

According to the public prosecutor, in 2010, Kiselyov recruited in St. Petersburg a group of 10 people and acquired weapons. On July 10 of that year, he instructed them and announced the date of the uprising start. During that period - from April to July - he was engaged in preparations and determined the city for illegal actions – Kovrov in the Vladimir Region.

The prosecutor drew the court’s attention to the fact that Kvachkov “was going by the force of small groups to seize the buildings of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Emergency Situations Ministry of Kovrov, as well as weapons and ammunition.” However, the retired colonel failed to implement his plans due to circumstances beyond his control.

“Despite the fact that Kvachkov and Kiselyov pleaded not guilty, the judicial investigation found full evidence of their guilt,” Alexander Remizov concluded.

The retired colonel and another defendant Alexander Kiselyov were charged under the RF Criminal Code articles “an attempt to organise an armed rebellion” and “recruitment or involvement of individuals in terrorist activities.” The latter also charged with illegal possession of arms and explosives.

During the trial Kvachkov rejected the charges of plotting an armed rebellion, recognising the formation of “guerrilla groups.” “The ‘People’s Militia’ was preparing guerrilla exercises for rebuffing a foreign intervention, and not for an armed rebellion,” said the defendant. According to him, the case was fabricated because of his intensive public activity.

The retired colonel was arrested based on the testimony of the regional leader of his organisation People’s Militia. Kvachkov himself explained that in the summer of 2010 the head of the organisation’s Togliatti branch was arrested: 10 days after his arrest, he made a confession, which formed the basis of charges against the retired colonel.

Earlier, several more people were convicted in Yekaterinburg in the case of the uprising preparation.

Kvachkov was the key suspect in the case over the assassination attempt on the life of chief of RAO UES electric utility Anatoly Chubais on March 17, 2005. A jury found all the defendants in the assassination attempt case not guilty, in a marathon eight-hour session overnight to August 21, 2010. Kvachkov later won a 450,000-rouble damages suit against the state for illegal prosecution.