Defence appeals against journalist Alexander Nozdrinov's verdict

The court has violated the right of Alexander Nozdrinov, a journalist from the Krasnodar Territory, to defence and exhibited bias; while the verdict was based on conclusions of an unprofessional expertise, the advocate has stated. Alexander's wife has complained about the ban on visiting him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Alexander Nozdrinov was sentenced to 8.5 years of freedom deprivation under a criminal case on spreading fakes about the Russian Army; besides, the court has prohibited him from working in media for four years. His relatives associate his prosecution with his civic position and blamed the court of being biased, since the defence had presented proofs of Nozdrinov's innocence. Alexander was convicted for helping other people, his wife Ekaterina believes.

The defence has filed an appeal against the verdict, said Alexei Avanesyan, an advocate. The crime imputed to Nozdrinov was committed before the relevant law came into force, the advocate has emphasized, adding that the court had incorrectly qualified his client's actions and failed to exercise its right to reclassify the actions under other, less serious articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.