You're reading: Russian investigators: Arrival of Razvozzhayev’s request would mean admission of guilt

MOSCOW - Investigators have not yet received an official petition from Russian opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev, who seeks the closure of a criminal inquiry into a robbery attack, which was committed in Angarsk in 1997, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax.

If such a request arrives, it “will mean that Razvozzhayev has admitted his guilt,” he said.

“So far investigators have not received Razvozzhayev’s official
petition requesting the closure of a criminal case opened against him
following a robbery attack on an entrepreneur in the town of Angarsk in
1997,” Markin said.

“But if it arrives, it will be handled in accordance with the procedure established by the law,” he said.

“This petition itself means that Razvozzhayev admits his guilt and
seeks the closure of the criminal case, in which the statute of
limitations has expired, in other words on exonerative grounds,” Markin
said.

Russian opposition activist Razvozzhayev earlier agreed to the
closure of a 15-year-old robbery case, in which the statute of
limitations has expired.

Razvozzhayev’s lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky claims that he has already forwarded his petition to the Investigative Committee.

“I have sent the petition to the Investigative Committee and attached
Razvozzhayev’s personal request to it. I also demand permission for his
return from Irkutsk,” he said.

Although the document was written on December 15, 2012, it did not
stop Razvozzhayev from being transported to Irkutsk as part of an
inquiry, the lawyer said.

“This statement rules out any legal reasons for Razvozzhayev’s transportation to Irkutsk,” he said.

Opposition Left Front activist Razvozzhayev was indicted under a
criminal case based on the documentary Anatomy of Protest-2 shown on NTV
television, which suggested that Razvozzhayev and some other opposition
activists had been planning to incite mass disturbances in Russia. He
also faces charges of robbery and illegal border crossing.