At an offsite meeting of the Lyubertsy City Court, held in the Moscow Regional Court, the jury found the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Sergei Furgal, completely guilty of two murders and attempted murder, SOTA reports.
As follows from the verdict, Furgal does not deserve indulgence in any of the episodes. The former governor faces punishment up to life imprisonment. Furgalu’s verdict is scheduled to be announced on February 6.
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In addition to Furgal, the jury found three more defendants guilty of crimes and not deserving of leniency. Only one of them – Marat Kadyrov – was recognized by the jury as deserving of indulgence.
Furgal himself pleaded not guilty to the crimes against him. In his closing remarks, the ex-governor noted that one hundred witnesses were declared by the defense, while only two were interrogated, the rest were not admitted. In addition, according to him, the investigation hid all material evidence and evidence.
Sergei Furgal’s lawyer Boris Kozhemyakin, after the announcement of the guilty verdict of the jury, said that there could be no life imprisonment for his client due to the statute of limitations on a number of episodes, and the defense would appeal the formal violations of the process to a higher authority.
Sergei Furgal was charged with attempted murder of two or more persons committed by an organized group; the murder of two or more persons committed by an organized group and the illegal acquisition, storage, carrying of firearms or ammunition.
According to investigators, Furgal is the organizer of a criminal group that in 2004-2005 attempted to kill Alexander Smolsky and the murders of Yevgeny Zori and Oleg Bulatov.
According to the Investigative Committee, the analysis of the materials allowed the investigation to draw “unequivocal conclusions about the involvement” of Furgal and the members of the group in the crimes. The agency claims that the decisions to commit the murders were driven by the commercial interests of Furgal and his accomplices. Investigators called Marat Kadyrov the perpetrator of the crime.
Furgal was detained on July 9, 2020 near his house. He does not admit guilt and complains of pressure from the investigation. Furgal’s supporters consider his persecution to be political – several years ago, in the elections for the head of the region, he defeated a United Russia candidate. After his arrest, people took to the streets every weekend. Thousands of people demanded the release of their governor day after day, passing through the central streets of Khabarovsk.
Russian protest of the year: how Governor Furgal was defended in Khabarovsk:
