The jury found the defendants in the case of the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory guilty of attempting, organizing and committing the murder of businessmen in 2004-2005. Former governor Sergei Furgal and alleged accomplices Andrei Karepov, Marat Kadyrov and Andrei Paley were at the docks.
The head of the jury answered the court’s question and said, “Guilty.” He stressed that Furgal does not deserve tolerance.
The case is pending before the Lyubertsy Court (part of the Moscow District Court). The murder of entrepreneurs Yevgeny Zori and Oleg Bulatov in 2004-2005 and the attempted murder case of businessman Alexander Smolsky are under investigation.
The jury believes that not only Furgal, but also all the other defendants besides Marat Kadyrov are guilty and do not deserve indulgence. The jury probably thought that Kadyrov deserved indulgence because of the oncological disease he had been battling for several years. In 2021, the court refused to allow Kadyrov to receive treatment outside the pre-trial detention center.
Furgal disagreed with its content when reading the verdict:
“Well, shame on you! Lift your eyes, you should be ashamed! You’re out of your mind!”
Later, the judge said that on February 6, the court will discuss the consequences of the jury’s guilty verdict.
According to the Criminal Code of Russia, Furgal could receive a life sentence at the end of the trial, but the statute of limitations for cases expired (part 4 of article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Questions to evaluators
Before the verdict was announced, the jury in the debate hall answered 35 questions. Their exact contents are unknown, but there is evidence that they were divided into four groups. The jury had to answer whether a crime had been committed and, if so, whether each defendant was involved in the case attributed to him and deserved indulgence if found guilty.
All participants in the process participated in the preparation of the questions, but Furgal expressed disagreement with the content: “I have read the questions and it is wrong to ask the jury questions that are not examined and are not included in the indictment.” Lawyers also stated that they saw factual errors and inconsistency with the prosecution in the inquiries.
“The questions are heavy-handed and distract the jury from the heart of the matter. Furgal’s lawyer, Boris Kozhemyakin, pointed out that unnecessary details should be removed from the list, saying that questions should be based on evidence examined before the jury.
He also saw an unacceptable method of pressure on the jury in the draft questions and drew the judge’s attention to the fact that Mikhail Timofeev and Nikolai Mistryukov were not mentioned in the draft questions, but these names emerged during the hearings – Timofeev was named in court as the criminal authority. and Timofeevsky, the leader of the organized crime group, and Mistryukov is Furgal’s former business partner – he cooperated in the investigation and testified against Furgal.
Furgal’s last word
The previous day, the former governor gave the last word to the court. He asked the jury not to trust the prosecution and to give him the opportunity to investigate his case based on the facts. Because of the sentimentality in the former governor’s speech, the judge interrupted him several times, demanding “not to violate the order and to comply with the requirements of the law”.
“Your Honor, I understand everything, you understand everything, and the jury understands everything. All I’m saying is, give this case a chance to investigate. And they want to close it. Just trust the facts. I suggest you investigate. It’s a sin to punish the innocent. Dear jurors, do this Are you ready to take on? I cannot accept that I must be destroyed,
– said.
He also stated that the prosecution misled the jury:
“The prosecutors said, ‘We represent the state.’ Then they misled you and misled you. Prosecutors never represent the state, they represent the prosecution where the verdict in favor of the accused is very serious and has serious consequences,” he said.
According to him, “the prosecution and the presiding judge understand what kind of case this is” and put all the responsibility on the jury. Furgal noted that he had not heard any evidence to report his guilt.
Furgal case
Sergei Furgal was the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory from September 2018 to July 2020, when he was arrested and placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow. In connection with Furgal’s arrest in the Far East, mass protests lasting nearly six months were held in support of him.
The criminal case was based on the events of 2004-2005 in the Far East – in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Amur Region, Furgal, a businessman, according to the investigation, was the client of the crimes, and his accomplices – Karepov, Paley and Kadyrov – were the organizers and perpetrators.
The first episode concerns the assassination attempt on Amur businessman Alexander Smolsky in July 2004. At the trial, the prosecutor said that in the early 2000s, Smolsky did business in the village of Progress in the Amur Region and bought scrap metal, which created competition for Furgal’s company due to the high purchase prices. According to the prosecution, Furgal demanded that the prices equalize, but this did not lead to anything and as a result they tried to blow up Smolsky with grenades. The jury also found Marat Kadyrov guilty.
The second part is about the murder of businessman Yevgeny Zori in the entrance of his house in 2004. According to the prosecution, the motive for the murder was the control of the railway line leading to the metalworking site at the No. 2 Reinforced Concrete Products Factory. The rail line was not owned by the Furgal company but used it. Zorya bought the road from a third party.
The third part is connected with the murder of Oleg Bulatov, a former employee of Furgal’s company, on January 31, 2005. He allegedly knew one of the crimes committed. Bulatov was shot near the garage, and a grenade was thrown at his house.
The investigation believes that Andrey Karepov was involved in organizing the assassination attempt and murders, and assisted Furgal and his business partner Mistryukov in solving problems of a “special nature”. The prosecution also believes that Karepov pulled the Khabarovsk organized crime group Paley and Kadyrov from Timofeevsky crime group boss Mikhail Timofeev, who was released and left Russia after serving time in another case in 2019. He was placed on the international wanted list in the Furgal case.