The 'Criminal Justice' System of Russia Strikes Again

The trial of the accused triggermen in the murder of Paul Klebnikov has been put off, again, and for the same absurd reason -- one of the defendants did not show up.

I'm serious. In Russia, if you kill a journalist, you can avoid trial by simply absconding.

Reuters reports:

"The court decided to send Klebnikov's murder case back to the prosecutors until (Kazbek) Dukuzov has been tracked down," Anna Usachyova, spokeswoman for the Moscow City Court told journalists after a hearing held behind closed doors.

Usachyova declined to give any further detail about the retrial, from which reporters have been barred because some of the evidence had been classified as secret.

Sound familiar? Here's what happened last March:

“This criminal case has been delayed indefinitely, and it won’t proceed until Dukuzov has been found and arrested,” court spokeswoman Anna Usachyova told reporters outside the courtroom in the Preobrazhensky district.

The reason all this has happened is that the two defendants were not rearrested when Russia's Supreme Court ordered a new trial. So, surprise surprise, one of them absconded. I'm surprised either one showed up.

I guess the other accused gunman wasn't expecting anything bad would happen.

UPDATE: Reporters Without Borders weighs in.

© 2007 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.



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