NOVOSIBIRSK, Jul 4 Two people who left Russia Independent deputies of the city council of Novosibirsk filed applications with the Central District Court of the city to appeal against the decision of their colleagues who deprived them of their deputy mandates, the representative of the court said.
Deputies of the City Council of Novosibirsk On June 28, at the session, they decided to withdraw their mandates «due to loss of confidence» of two of their colleagues who are abroad. These are Sergey Boyko* (recognized as a foreign agent) and Helga Pirogova, against whom a criminal case has been opened for spreading fakes about the Russian army.
«Today, on July 4, the Central District Court received two administrative statements of claim, where Boiko * and Pirogova are named as administrative plaintiffs. One statement of claim is to challenge the decision of the local government, the second is an administrative statement of claim to invalidate the presentation of the prosecutor,» the agency's interlocutor said. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.
The City Council session, following the anti-corruption commission of the Parliament, agreed with the presentation of the city prosecutor and recognized that in the actions of Boyko * and Pirogova there are signs of non-fulfillment of the obligation established in order to combat corruption, namely, the failure to provide information about income, which is «no alternative and unconditional» grounds for termination of their powers in connection with the loss of confidence.
In April, the council of deputies of Novosibirsk made changes to the city's charter, providing for the deprivation of powers of deputies absent without good reason for more than six months.
Boyko*, fearing possible persecution by law enforcement agencies, left Russia in the fall of 2021. Pirogova left the country in the summer of 2022 after a criminal case was opened against her for making a disrespectful statement about the military who died during a special operation in Ukraine. Boyko* and Pirogova were independent deputies and were elected to the city council as part of the so-called «Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition».
* An individual acting as a foreign agent