The prosecution requested six years in prison for Nadezhda Kevorkova, a half-million ruble fine, and a ban on administering websites for five years, reported a correspondent from 'Mediazona'** from the courtroom. At the same time, prosecutor Yevgeny Mayorov asked to consider the positive characteristics of the defendant, her health condition, and the fact that she has elderly parents dependent on her.
Kevorkova is accused of 'justifying terrorism' for two posts on a Telegram channel. The case was initiated due to two posts on a Telegram channel. The first post is a reprint of a 2010 text by journalist Orkhan Dzhemal. Kevorkova posted it two months after Dzhemal's murder in Africa. In the short text, he spoke about the repression of Muslims in Kabardino-Balkaria and recalled his acquaintance with Anzor Astemirov, who was killed by security forces and who went from peaceful preaching to armed resistance. The second post was about the 'Taliban', which is currently recognized in Russia as a 'terrorist organization'. At the same time, Russian authorities plan to exclude the 'Taliban' from the register of terrorist organizations, which has been publicly reported multiple times.
In court, the defense presented a police report on Kevorkova's son, journalist Vasily Polonsky, which 'actually contains an accusation of treason' against him. The report states that 'Vasily Polonsky cooperates with Western intelligence services, 'foreign agents', and 'undesirable organizations', said lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov. He noted that the operative did not even remember this protocol, but thoroughly explained how he studied Kevorkova's posts. He also reported that the investigation materials on his client contain quotes from 'Wikipedia', which is blocked in Russia.
In the case materials read out by the state prosecutor, there is a lawyer's request addressed to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about how Russia currently interacts with the 'Taliban'. In response, the representative in Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, wrote that all international treaties in effect at the time the Taliban came to power remain in force. 'The Russian Federation, like other countries, maintains a political dialogue with Afghanistan', wrote the official, adding that interaction with the Taliban generally boils down to trade.
The defense also petitioned to include the expert opinion of Elena Novozhilova, who also testified in political cases involving Alexei Gorinov* and Oleg Orlov**. The court granted this petition but refused to question the expert in court.
* Included in the list of 'terrorists and extremists'.
** Recognized in Russia as 'foreign agents'.
Photo: Mediazona