10 October 2016

Source: HRO.org

Psychiatric testimony found Bolotnoe Case prisoner Maksim Panfilov to be not of sound mind. His attorney, Sergei Panchenko, reported the finding.

“The materials concerning Panfilov will be transferred to a separate proceeding and sent to the court for a ruling on the use of coercive medical measures against him,” said the attorney.

Panchenko has since refrained from commentary regarding any further defensive measures concerning the court case, the site Grani.ru reported.

On April 7, 2016, the 30-year-old Panfilov was arrested in his apartment in Astrakhan. Maksim Panfilov came from Astrakhan to Moscow specially for the March of Millions on May 6, 2012. At the rally, he was arrested and fined 500 roubles in accordance with Article 19.3.1 of the Administrative Code for insubordination to a police officer’s lawful demand. Having returned home to Astrakhan, Panfilov, according to his mother, did not take further part in public activities.

On April 8, Judge Valentine Levashov of the Basmanny district court in Moscow remanded Panfilov in custody until June 7, 2016. Panfilov was charged under Article 212.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in mass unrest) and Article 318.1 (Use of non-lethal force against authorities). According to the investigation, Panfilov broke the helmet of OMON (Russian special forces) Officer Vladimir Filippov at Bolotnaya Square, “causing him physical pain.”

“My clientl denies that the use of force is indicative of a crime,” declared the attorney Panchenko at the court’s session. Since Filippov’s helmet was not fastened, Panfilov could not have inflicted an injury upon the police officer.

The attorney also declared that the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling on the Bolotnoe case is grounds for reviewing prosecutions for mass unrest. According to the Strasbourg Court, no such unrest occurred on Bolotnoye Square, the attorney said.

Maksim Alekseevich Panfilov, born in 1985, a resident of Astrakhan, suffers from a neurological illness and was not employed at the time of arrest. He is charged under Article 212.2 (“Participation in Mass Unrest”) and Article 318.1 (“Use of non-lethal force against authorities”) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in connection with the Bolotnoe case. He has been under house arrest since April 7, 2016. He is considered a political prisoner, as the investigation is being carried out under charges of an offense related to an alleged event that did not in fact take place, violates the right to a fair trial, and involves the use of an unreasonable act of detention.

See also FAQ on the Bolotnoye Case.

Translated by Caroline Elkin