MOSCOW, January 10 (Itar-Tass) — The Investigative Committee /SK/ is ready consider the petition by Opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev to drop the robbery case against him, SK spokesman Vladimir Markin said in response to an Itar-Tass question.
"So far, the investigators have no Razvozzhayev's official petition on hand requesting to drop the criminal case against him over robbery of a businessman in the town of Angarsk in 1997," Markin said.
"If the SK receives it, it will review it in accordance with the procedure established by law," the spokesman underlined.
"The petition indicates that Razvozzhayev admits his culpability in the crime and asks to drop criminal prosecution due to the statute of limitation," i.e for non-rehabilitating reason," he added.
Leonid Razvozzhayev is one of the suspects in the criminal case over preparations to stage riots across Russia.
On Thursday, Razvozzhayev's lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky confirmed that his client had asked to drop the robbery case.
"I received a letter from the Chelyabinsk remand prison in which Razvozzhayev gives his consent to dropping the criminal case over robber against him due to the statute of limitation. Today, I passed his petition with his personal statement attached to the Investigative Committee /SK/, Agranovsky said.
The lawyer said the petition demands immediate return of Razvozzhayev from Irkutsk where he had been convoyed in connection with the probe into the criminal case in question.
Earlier, the SK pooled several criminal cases against Leonid Razvozzhayev.
"These are a criminal case against Razvozzhayev and other persons accused of robbery of a businessman in Angarsk in 1997, and a criminal case against Sergei Udaltsov, Leonid Razvozzhayev, and Konstantin Lebedev over plotting riots in Moscow and other Russian regions," SK spokesman Vladimir Markin said. The third case was opened over illegal crossing of Russia's state border.
The decision was made under Article 153 of the Criminal Procedure Code, according to which the criminal cases about the crimes committed by one person can be pooled.
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.
Udaltsov and Ponomaryov repeatedly denied the riot plans. None of the defendants admitted wrongdoing.
If found guilty, they might face up to five years in prison.
The second criminal case was opened over robbery in Angarsk in 1997. The investigation has not been carried through.
An Angarsk resident recently complained to the SK that the persons who had robbed her husband in 1997, had not been arraigned. "The prosecutors handed over the criminal case to the SK to complete the probe," the SK spokesman said.
It follows from the criminal case materials that Razvozzhayev had entered into collusion with unidentified persons to rob and steal the property of a businessman who had traded in furs. The investigators said he had broken into the businessman's apartment together with his accomplices on December 4, 1997. Armed with a hunting gun and two pistols, they tied the businessman, and then beat him and threatened with weapons, demanding that he give them his property.
According to the case materials, Razvozzhayev and his accomplices stole a video camera and 500 fur caps, causing an estimated damage of 95 million non-denominated roubles.
"It should be noted that during the investigation into the criminal case, Leonid Razvozzhayev was identified by the victim as one of the attackers, who had beaten him and threatened with a rifle," the SK representative underlined.
State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov earlier called the robbery charge against his aide "utter nonsense".