An appeal of the sentence against former Khabarovsk Governor Furgal has begun in Saratov. The court denied him transfer from Moscow.
The First Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Saratov began considering the complaint of the defense of the former governor of Khabarovsk Krai Sergei Furgal and other defendants in his case (Andrey Paley и Marat Kadyrov) on the verdict of the Lyubertsy City Court of the Moscow Region. According to According to the court's press service, Furgal is represented by four lawyers. The politician's defense insists that the trial at first instance was conducted unfairly, with violations of the very procedure of a jury trial.
Furgal, being a member of the LDPR, headed Khabarovsk Krai from 2018 to 2020. He was arrested in July 2020 on suspicion of involvement in a series of murders and sent to Moscow, where he remains in pretrial detention. In the Khabarovsk Territory, following the governor's arrest, mass protests in his support continued for more than six months. In 2024, a court declared the interregional public movement extremist. "I/WE Sergey Furgal" and banned its activities in the Russian Federation.
In 2023, the Lyubertsy Court sentenced Furgal to 22 years in prison for organizing murders in 2004–2005. The court excluded the count of illegally acquiring weapons from the sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Three other defendants in the case received sentences ranging from 9,5 to 21 years in prison. The appellate court denied review of the sentences of the defendants in the Furgal case.
At the court hearing in Saratov, Furgal spoke via video link. The politician stated that his lawyers were not allowed to see him in Moscow, and he had no time to prepare for the hearing. The court allowed Furgal to speak privately with his defense attorney. However, in his motion for personal presence At the hearing in Saratov the court refused.
Due to the fact that other defendants in the case are located in Khabarovsk Krai (a six-hour time difference with Saratov), the trial has been adjourned until September 6.
Photo: Free News
