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Bolotnaya Square riot case defendants hear indictment

The suspects are accused of mass disturbances, use of violence against police, and calls for disobeying law-enforcement personnel

On Tuesday, Moscow's Zamoskvorechye court began to hear the case over riots in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square during the Opposition rally on May 6, 2012. The prosecutor read the indictment against the first 12 of some three dozen suspects. They are accused of mass disturbances, use of violence against police, and calls for disobeying law-enforcement personnel.

The trial is open. It is held in the building of Moscow City Court, because the district court could not accommodate all. Twelve defendants have more than 20 lawyers, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta writes. According to the investigator, during the March of Millions sanctioned by the authorities, the defendants violated several articles of the Criminal Code. They were charged with "participation in rots," use of violence against government representatives," and calls for disobeying the demands of law-enforcement bodies."

The indictment, endorsed by the Prosecutor General's Office states that "they accompanied their actions by the destruction of property and violence against police personnel." As a result of this behavior, 82 police were injured, while the sum of damage caused to federal and municipal organizations exceeded 28 million roubles.

A majority of the defendants are accused of participation in riots and use of violence against government representatives, the Kommersant writes. These charges were brought against leftists Andrei Barabanov, Stepan Zimin, Alexandra Dukhanina and Alexei Polikhovich, national democrat Yaroslav Belousov, former Moscow metro employee Artyom Savelov, Sergei Krivov, Ph D, and marine Denis Lutskevich. The softest charges were brought against December 5 Party activist Maria Baronova: she was accused of disobeying the legitimate demands by government representatives and calls for mass disturbances.

After hearing the indictment, the defendants pleaded not guilty, the newspaper underlined. Defendant Sergei Krivov believes he is an injured party. "I was beaten on the head with a baton, and now the person who hit me, is claiming that I hurt him," Kirov said referring to one of the witnesses for the prosecution.

Lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky insisted that where were no "mass disturbances" in Bolotnaya Square on which prosecutors and the Investigative Committee insisted; therefore there was no event of crime.

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