JAILED CORRUPTION FIGHTER'S LAWYER SPEAKS

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000083 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM RS SUBJECT: JAILED CORRUPTION FIGHTER'S LAWYER SPEAKS REF: VLADIVOSTOK 079 ¶1. Polof and FSN met on July 27 with Yaroslav Gerin, the lawyer for jailed anti-corruption investigator Aleksandr Astafyev, who gave an update on his client's case (reftel). He stated that he was denied access to Astafiev on two occasions despite the constitutional guarantee allowing lawyer/client contact. Currently Astafyev is allowed contact only with representatives of the prosecution. As for his legal argument, Gerin contends that even if Astafiev were to be found guilty on charges of receiving merchandise from a client, the mandated penalty is merely admonition, demotion, or termination of employment. Furthermore, according to him the original complainant in the case, Sergey Sopchuk, has no official connection with the company that purchased equipment for the Witness Protection Center named in the complaint and therefore cannot legally file such a complaint. ¶2. Two weeks ago the lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the case due to its many procedural violations to Vladivostok City prosecutor Dmitry Romanchenko for his consideration. If that is declined, he will file again with Moscow's Federal Investigation Department Head Aleksandr Bastrykin. Gerin is a member of the Association of Retired MVD Officers, and is hoping that this will allow him access to, and support from, high-level officials, calling it a "green corridor" in delivering documents to decision makers in Moscow. ¶3. Regarding conditions for Astafyev, Gerin mentioned that after the local press began to cover the story, he was moved from a basement cell to a more comfortable one on an upper level which he reportedly is sharing with former Customs Official General Ernest Bakhshetsyan (also an anti-corruption investigator recently jailed),and another law enforcement official. ¶4. Gerin mentioned that he was not been pressured by authorities for taking Astafyev as a client, though, in his opinion, it will likely affect the career of Astafyev's son who currently serves in the marine border guard service. The lawyer mentioned that the contract killings popular in the wild 1990's have been replaced with career- and morale-destroying legal cases as a means to bully opponents into submission. He ended the meeting recalling a saying used by Soviet security forces in 1930s when threatening those whom they pressured: "That you are currently free is not based on your merit, but is merely a result of inefficiency in our work." MILLER