Look at this—it’s remarkable. There is such a thing as the case file. It consists of several volumes of documents obtained by investigators during the investigation (in my case, more than 130 volumes).
There is a special procedure called “review of the case materials.” The accused and their lawyers come to the investigator, read the materials, and then sign to confirm that they have done so. There is a special review schedule with signatures, the number of pages read, the number of pages in each volume, and so on. All of this is quite strict, because only those documents the defendant has reviewed are supposed to be submitted to the court. Not one page more, not one page less.
If the volumes of the case file that end up in court differ in content, numbering, and so on, that is serious grounds not only for sending the case back, but also for investigating possible misconduct by the investigators.
So here’s the point. During this review, my lawyers photographed every single page in all 130 volumes.
And now they have discovered that in the seventh volume of the case file—and this is the most important volume, the one containing that very Yves Rocher letter saying they found no damages, along with their other documents—the page numbering and the page contents do not match.
We went back to those very review logs for the case materials and found something wonderful: the Investigative Committee investigators not only tampered with the documents before sending them to court, but also covered up the number of pages in the volume with white correction fluid and changed it.
This is an investigative technique of the highest order, worthy of Bastrykin’s “Czech agent” episode (a reference to Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee).
At the last hearing, we questioned investigator Nesterov, who handled the “Yves Rocher case”. The defense deliberately asked him clearly and directly whether any of the case volumes had been unbound and renumbered after the defense had reviewed them.
Listen to this short 39-second clip:
Nesterov says clearly: no, that did not happen.
Nevertheless, we have clearly documented that the number of sheets decreased, their numbering changed, and, on top of that, their contents changed as well. And to conceal the forgery, the Investigative Committee reprinted the review protocol sheets and used correction fluid to alter the numbers.
Both I and my defense team see clear signs of a crime here, and we are asking that investigator Nesterov be held criminally liable for abuse of office, forgery, fabrication of evidence, and knowingly giving false testimony in court. In the Investigative Committee’s own practice, cases like this are opened quite readily—here, for example, and here.
Here is the crime report submitted to the Investigative Committee yesterday. It is very clear, logical, and written in plain language. Have a read—it may come in handy someday.
And there are quite a lot of such changes there. It was specifically volume 7 that they unbound and renumbered—the very one containing Kristin Melnik’s note stating there were no damages.
All of this perfectly illustrates the level at which Bastrykin’s subordinates operate. Even with courts fully under their control, they still cannot resist relying on crude, obvious tricks—and white correction fluid.
P.S. And as usual, a reminder—don’t forget to vote.