The Supreme Court of Russia did not send the case of neo-Nazis Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, who were convicted in 2011 on the basis of a jury verdict for the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova, to the court of first instance for a new trial. This is reported by the correspondent of «Novaya» from the courtroom.
At the same time, the Supreme Court slightly changed the verdict, as requested by the prosecutor's office. An episode related to the possession of weapons was filmed from both convicts, and an episode was filmed separately from Tikhonov using a fake document. This does not change anything in terms of terms for Tikhonov, and Khasis reduced the term by a year — from 18 years to 17 years.
Earlier, in December 2021, The Supreme Court sent the case to revision. The basis on which the Presidium of the Supreme Court met was the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which in February recognized the trial of neo-Nazis as subject to review. At the same time, the ECtHR did not discuss the guilt or innocence of the convicted. By that time, Tikhonov and Khasis had already confessed to the murder of a lawyer and a journalist.
Photo: Vera Chelishcheva/Novaya Gazeta
Tikhonov, who received a life sentence, and Khasis, sentenced to 18 years in prison, complained to the ECHR about a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on the right to a fair trial. They drew the jurors' attention to an interview with one of the former members of the jury, Anna Dobracheva, who recused herself and refused to participate in the hearings.
Dobracheva claimed that people who put pressure on the rest of the jury were introduced into the collegium. As followed from the complaint of Tikhonov and Khasis, the principle was violated, according to which the jury should not consider any evidence, arguments and information about the accused, except for those that they learned about in the courtroom.