A panel discussion of the situation surrounding jury trials in modern Russia was held in the Russian capital of Moscow today. Among other issues the assembled experts discussed the legal problems of the North Caucasus.
Member of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights Boris Panteleyev believes that all residents of the North Caucasus as well as other Russian citizens have the right to undergo jury trial.
According to the expert, this has been stressed by the Constitutional Court.
"Residents of the North Caucasus should be able to enjoy their constitutional rights. They should not feel like they are cheated, like their rights are being abused," he said.
Lawyer Anna Stavitskaya noted however that these regulations are sometimes abused by the authorities. She said that she herself had once had to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in order to secure the rights of her defendant Sergey Arakcheyev, who has been accused of murdering civilians during the Chechen war, but has been found innocent by a jury.
The decision was repealed later by the Constitutional Court, she said.
