Aleksey (Nikolaevich) Podnebesny (born 4 July 1978, The City of Gorky) — the most conceptual Nizhny Novgorod Region human rights defender, Orthodox activist, a Nizhny Novgorod Meme in the field of rational law enforcement, a legendary figure. An honours graduate in law (Faculty of Law, UNN), former investigator of the Shakhunya district prosecutor's office.
He held the class rank of "jurist 3rd class" (equivalent to the rank of lieutenant).
In February 2005 A.N. Podnebesny was dismissed from the prosecution service, according to the position of the prosecutor's office, for "committing an act discrediting the honour of a prosecution officer".[1] The formal ground for the dismissal was a personal conflict with one of his colleagues, Mr Seroglazov. According to the prosecutor's office version, the conflict consisted in Podnebesny shaking his fist at his colleague and demanding that he no longer touch the computer belonging to Podnebesny.
According to A.N. Podnebesny's version, the real reason for his dismissal was his uncompromising stance against the use of torture by law enforcement officers and the fabrication of criminal cases against innocent people for the sake of high statistical indicators in reporting. A.N. Podnebesny wrote a book about this, "In the Second Circle", and also gave an interview to the newspaper "Novoye Delo". The prosecutor's office did not refute the information set out in the book and the interview.
Subsequently he specialised in opposing infill development (Kovalikha, Lake Svetloyar), the struggle to lower utility tariffs, and the protection of animal rights; he also dealt with questions of the theory of communist society.
In the summer of 2011, after defending himself and his wife against a group of hooligans near the village of Vladimirskoye in Voskresensky District, he was charged with a criminal offence and held under arrest for two months, and later committed for trial.[2]
The essence of the phenomenon
A natural-born lawyer, metaphysical philosopher and fighter for justice: a pronounced logical-intuitive introvert, "Robespierre".
Podnebesny's socionic conflictor is Oleg Sorokin.
Direct speech. Aleksey Podnebesny about himself
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There are people who work like catalysts, like litmus paper. When they come up against one person or another, by their presence alone they are able to bring him out into the open, to make him show his true face. Apparently, I am one of those people. | 
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By profession I am a lawyer, although I come from a working-class background. I worked in the prosecutor's office as an investigator; in 2005 I was unlawfully dismissed from the prosecutor's office for speaking out in criticism of its leadership. Thanks to my numerous appeals to the Prosecutor General's Office, thanks to my one-of-a-kind article in the newspaper «Novoye Delo», where I exposed the falsifications practised by the prosecutor's office, the Prosecutor General's Office[3] began an inspection of the work of the prosecutor's office of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and its outcome was the resignation of the regional prosecutor V. Demidov, in which there is my contribution too.
I wrote an autobiographical book about the lawlessness of the prosecutor's office, «In the Second Circle»; about the book I have received many letters of gratitude from readers, some wrote that with my book I changed their lives, opened their eyes, and therefore I strongly recommend that every honest person read it!
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It has always been very hard for me to earn my living: I have worked since the age of 14 - as a labourer on a construction site, a roofer, a kiosk salesman, a video operator on television, an English tutor, a street sweeper, a watchman and in many other unskilled jobs.
Today I am an independent human rights defender, public figure, writer and journalist. In 2007 I managed to get the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod, E. Bulavinov, to cancel the inflated tariff for capital repairs. I am also engaged in animal protection; together with a group of animal rights activists we fight against experiments on animals and against cruelty to stray animals.
Together with a group of residents I am also engaged in the struggle against infill development, in particular against the construction of «Oktyabrsky Boulevard», the building of which may lead to an ecological catastrophe in the Kovalikhinsky neighbourhood of Nizhny Novgorod"
Biography
Working-class origins.
From the age of 14 he tried his hand at low-paid jobs: labourer on a construction site, roofer, kiosk salesman, video operator on television, English tutor, street sweeper, watchman.
He studied at the Nizhny Novgorod State Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (now the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering). He was among the hundred best students (21st in the rating for his second year). In January 1998 he was expelled, according to unofficial information, from the third year for insulting a teacher. According to A. Podnebesny's own account, he left NNGASU because of a break-up with the girl he loved and disappointment in that university.
In 2003 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of UNN, and in 2007 he completed postgraduate studies at the UNN Faculty of Law, passing the candidate's minimum examinations (specialty 12.00.08 – criminal law and criminology, penal law; the English language; philosophy) in full with marks of «excellent».
Dismissal from the prosecutor's office
In February 2005 A. N. Podnebesny was dismissed from the prosecution service for "committing an offence discrediting the honour of a prosecutorial employee".[4] The formal pretext for the dismissal was a personal conflict with one of his colleagues, Mr Seroglazov. The conflict consisted in Podnebesny shaking his fist at his colleague and demanding that he no longer touch the computer belonging to Podnebesny.
In court, prosecutor Andropov's assertions that by quarrelling with Seroglazov Podnebesny had «put the staff of the Kanavino prosecutor's office out of working order» were not confirmed; nor did the injured party himself state that as a result of the quarrel his work had been disrupted or disorganised. The injured party Seroglazov soon resigned of his own accord. It was also established that Podnebesny apologised to Seroglazov, caused him no harm, and that the conflict lasted less than 20 minutes. [1]
In his book "In the Second Circle", and also in an interview with the newspaper "Novoye Delo", A. Podnebesny describes the circumstances of his dismissal that the prosecutor's office denies, in particular the torture of people under investigation, the falsification of statistical reporting[3], the immoral way of life of its employees, against which A. Podnebesny spoke out and for which, in his opinion, he was dismissed.
Subsequently A. Podnebesny worked as a teacher at the UNN Centre for Distance Learning under a civil-law contract (hourly payment) until January 2009.
Biography of her husband as told by Yevgenia Podnebesnaya
An account by Yevgenia Podnebesnaya.
Aleksey Podnebesny is a Nizhny Novgorod public figure and activist, one of the organisers of the movement against infill development in N. Novgorod, an animal rights defender who took up public work after his unlawful dismissal from the prosecutor's office, where he had worked as an investigator. The main reason for his dismissal from the prosecutor's office was Aleksey's human rights views, his refusal to take part in the torture of people under investigation and in the fabrication of criminal cases against innocent people. Aleksey wrote the book «In the Second Circle» about prosecutorial and judicial arbitrariness, and criticised unlawful methods of investigation in the Nizhny Novgorod Media.
Largely thanks to Aleksey's active work in organising numerous mass public protest actions, in 2011 the movement against infill development obtained a complete ban on it from the city authorities. Before that, in 2007, thanks to the protest campaign begun by Aleksey, the city authorities cancelled the unlawfully inflated tariff for the capital repair of apartment buildings. In 2007–2010 Aleksey and like-minded people held numerous animal protection actions in N. Novgorod against cruelty to stray animals; hundreds of people took part in them. Aleksey Podnebesny took part, as far as his strength allowed, in the fight against corruption, publishing on the internet site he created, the «Nizhny Novgorod Protest Portal» http://pravda.webstolica.ru/ interviews and exposé materials on high-ranking Nizhny Novgorod officials, which were subsequently confirmed.
In 2007 Aleksey and like-minded people created the «Nizhny Novgorod Society of Friends of Cuba» in N. Novgorod, on the basis of which in 2011 the first international Russian-Cuban scientific and practical conference in N. Novgorod was held, whose distinctive feature was its anti-capitalist character. Aleksey is also a young legal scholar, the author of 23 academic publications. Aleksey Podnebesny attaches particular importance to spirituality and faith in God, which largely determines his worldview.
Aleksey Podnebesny is now subjected to the harshest criminal prosecution, he is accused of several criminal offences, which, as Aleksey's comrades who created the «Public Committee for Defence against an Unjust Accusation» believe, has in fact been fabricated by the prosecutor's office and the Centre for Combating Extremism in order to take revenge on Aleksey for his active human rights and public work and his exposé publications, and to remove him from participation in the social and political life of N. Novgorod. The case has now been referred to court.
The pretext for the harshest criminal prosecution of Aleksey Podnebesny was an attack on him and his wife Yevgenia by two drunken hooligans on the night of 16 to 17 July at Lake Svetloyar. http://freeundersky.livejou[6]rnal.com/548.html
Aleksey was forced to defend himself against the attack. In any civilised state, actions to defend oneself against an attack would have been assessed as necessary self-defence. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/4293.html
However, instead of this Aleksey was first accused of the deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm (under part 1 of article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and then in the investigative committee of the Nizhegorodsky district (the former investigation service of the prosecutor's office) the charge was made even heavier, imputing to Aleksey part 1 of article 105 and part 3 of article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – attempted murder. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/4668.html
It is still not clear whether the hooligans' attack on Aleksey was a chance occurrence, or whether it was a pre-planned action whose outcome was to be Aleksey's murder or a serious beating and outrage against his wife. In favour of this version is the fact that the attack was committed almost immediately after the successful completion of the long campaign against infill development in N. Novgorod, and the developers, who had lost the millions in profits they had wanted to extract from building on people's heads, were very angry with Aleksey Podnebesny, the organiser of all the protest actions. http://pravda.webstolica.ru/sobytija/bolshaja-pobeda-glava-administracii-nnovgoroda
Immediately after the end of this struggle, Aleksey took part in the fight against commercial development at Lake Svetloyar. http://pravda.webstolica.ru/sobytija/pisma-protesta-protiv-kommercializacii-svjatogo
It was after this that this strange attack on Aleksey took place. The attackers clearly did not expect that Aleksey could put up resistance. After they were repulsed, they called for reinforcements by telephone and searched for Aleksey with shotguns in order to deal with him. While Aleksey and his wife were hiding from reprisal, the attackers' friends ran about the lake shouting and firing shotguns. Fearing reprisal, Aleksey was forced to go home to N. Novgorod.
If this was a chance incident, then it is completely unclear why officers of the Centre for Combating Extremism of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Nizhny Novgorod Region (CCE) came to detain Aleksey the very next morning.
The event took place far from N. Novgorod. How, in just one day, was the local police able not only to determine that it was precisely Aleksey Podnebesny who had wounded the injured party I-mov, previously unknown to him, but also to bring the Centre for Extremism into Aleksey's detention? Judging by existing investigative practice, an investigator of a district department cannot give instructions to operational officers of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs bypassing their immediate superiors in the Main Directorate. Yet it was precisely in this way, directly, that the investigator of the Voskresenskoye department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, A. V. Guseva, if the documents of the criminal case are to be believed, gave the head of the CCE an instruction to detain Aleksey Podnebesny.[6] And already on the day after the incident (Sunday to Monday) CCE officers appeared at the Podnebesnys' flat.
A different version seems more likely. The Centre for Combating Extremism itself was tracking everything that was happening at the lake, knew about the attack on Aleksey Podnebesny and itself put forward the initiative of detaining him. Only after Aleksey's actual detention was this formalised procedurally «retroactively». Only in this way can it be explained why the instruction was addressed from the investigator directly to the head of the CCE, and not to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
There were no grounds whatsoever to believe that the events at the lake were connected with the commission of any extremist or terrorist crime. Therefore there were also no grounds to send an instruction from the investigator to the Centre for Extremism. It is only if the Centre itself had its own interest in detaining Aleksey Podnebesny that everything becomes clear.
And the CPE did indeed have an interest. This is stated in the memoranda drawn up by CPE officers and submitted to the case file, as well as to the prosecutor's office of the Nizhegorodsky District of N. Novgorod. From these documents it becomes clear that the CPE had long been monitoring the public activity of Aleksey Podnebesny. The Center was extremely displeased that for several years Aleksey had been holding rallies and pickets (against infill construction and others) which enjoyed popular support and drew representatives of various political parties and movements. Any civic activity is regarded by the CPE as "extremism". CPE officers enrolled Aleksey at once in several "extremist" movements http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/5593.html, and even appointed him leader of the anarchists. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/3184.html
The CPE's interest specifically in investigating the public activity of Aleksey Podnebesny was fully confirmed after his detention and the search of his flat.
Mortally frightened by the events taking place, Aleksey feared that the hooligans who had attacked him at the lake would deal with him. When on the morning of 18 July unknown men began banging on the door and demanding that it be opened, Aleksey thought it was them, and so decided to flee from them via the balcony. When he climbed outside and walked along the pavement, an unfamiliar young man in civilian clothes ran at him with his fists. Almost instinctively, perceiving this as a new attack, Aleksey sprayed the assailant with a gas canister and ran away. Only later did Aleksey learn that the entire building on Kovalikha where he lived had been surrounded by CPE officers, and that the man who had run at him was a police (CPE) officer.
Why did Aleksey not turn to the police straight away? Because he knew that the police, the investigation, the prosecutor's office and the court would all come out against him. Aleksey Podnebesny is known as the author of the book "In the Second Circle", which exposes the arbitrariness and moral degradation of law enforcement officers. http://pravda.webstolica.ru/v-kruge-vtorom-aleksej-podnebesnyj/
He sharply criticised the prosecutor's office and law enforcement agencies in the media for fabricating criminal cases and statistical reporting, and exposed torture and unlawful court decisions.[8] Several prosecutors and other employees of the prosecutor's office were disciplined on complaints from Aleksey Podnebesny and even dismissed. The Prosecutor General's Office used materials published by Aleksey during its review of the performance of V. Demidov as prosecutor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, which resulted in the resignation of the regional prosecutor. For this he is fiercely hated, above all by the senior officials of that system. And many of them, mentioned in A. Podnebesny's book, not only kept their posts but took key positions — such as the former deputy regional prosecutor V. V. Stravinskas, who now heads the Investigative Committee of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Therefore any appeal to the police or the courts would have led to Aleksey himself being designated the guilty party. That is exactly what happened.
But at the initial stage of fabricating the case against Aleksey the key role belonged, after all, not to the prosecutor's office but to the Center for Combating Extremism. On the night of 19 July a large-scale search was carried out in Aleksey's flat, in which the leading role was played by the head of the CPE, A. Trifonov, himself, together with his officers. The police officers had not obtained a court warrant for the search, and the search was conducted in the absence of the flat's owners. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/3900.html During the search, items were seized that had no relation whatsoever to the charge brought against Aleksey but were of interest to the CPE: Aleksey's computers, discs with recordings of protest actions organised with Aleksey's participation, a camera, a dictaphone, diaries, personal notes, photograph albums. The CPE was looking for compromising material on Aleksey Podnebesny as a public figure.
Then Aleksey was detained by CPE officers, and during the detention he was brutally beaten. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/2038.html At the police station CPE officers, using torture, demanded that Aleksey Podnebesny give evidence against himself and other Nizhny Novgorod activists about various crimes of an extremist and terrorist nature about which Aleksey knew nothing. Aleksey was forced to write "confessions" about the incident at the lake and the incident with the man who turned out to be a CPE officer. Then Aleksey was taken to the settlement of Voskresenskoye, where he was arrested and placed in custody.[9]
Aleksey spent two months in custody, in a temporary detention facility and a pre-trial detention centre. During that time he was given no medical assistance in connection with the beating by CPE officers: the prosecutor's office and the investigation wanted to conceal the traces of the beating. Aleksey twice declared a hunger strike in protest against the fabrication of the criminal case and the denial of medical assistance.
At the end of September investigator Guseva, who had been conducting the case with a harshly accusatory bias, fell seriously ill and went on sick leave. The case was handed over to another investigator of the Voskresenskoye division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a more objective one. Aleksey was released from custody, and a forensic medical examination was carried out which confirmed that Aleksey's account of being attacked by the alleged victim himself was truthful. Character references were obtained on the victim (in fact, on the man who had attacked Aleksey), according to which he belongs to the criminal milieu, is cunning and aggressive, had been prosecuted for theft and held administratively liable for hooliganism, his brother has been convicted of murder, he works nowhere and abuses alcohol. The investigation began to move towards the truth. It was at that point that the case was taken away by the prosecutor's office from the investigator of the Voskresenskoye division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and transferred to the Investigative Department (the former prosecutorial investigation service) of the Nizhegorodsky District of N. Novgorod.
Here the investigation — or rather, the fabrication of the charge — was taken under the personal control of the head of the investigative department, O. N. Malikova, who, as it turned out, had long regarded Aleksey Podnebesny as her personal enemy. Working in Malikova's department was the little son of Andropov, the prosecutor of the Kanavinsky District, about whom Aleksey Podnebesny had written in his book, describing how he fabricated a case against an innocent man, and also the little son of Milkov, dean of the law faculty, who had raped a witness in his office, about which Aleksey had also written. This, and possibly something else as well, made Malikova hate Aleksey.
A repeat forensic medical examination was ordered. Its result was known in advance to the investigator who ordered it, and he did not conceal this: on the day he ordered the repeat examination the investigator was intending to bring a new charge against Aleksey. Aleksey and his lawyer asked him: and what if the examination shows that Aleksey is innocent? But the investigator knew what this new examination would show. In the opinion of Aleksey's lawyer, the expert had been bribed and gave a knowingly false conclusion in order to refute Aleksey's account of acting in necessary self-defence.
The same expert wrote a conclusion based on forged medical documentation concerning the police officer, according to which the pepper tincture caused the policeman light harm to health and the policeman was on sick leave for two weeks. No medicines, meanwhile, were prescribed to this supposedly injured policeman. And this victim policeman himself took an active part both in beating Aleksey and in the search of his flat.
In the end Aleksey was charged anew — this time with attempted murder (Part 3 of Art. 30, Part of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and with causing harm to the health of a representative of authority (Part 2 of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This was done in order to ensure Aleksey a real, lengthy term of imprisonment: for murder no suspended sentence is imposed, parole is practically never applied, and the regime for serving the sentence is stricter (fewer visits, parcels and so on).
Besides fabricating expert examinations and an excessively harsh, inflated charge, the prosecutorial investigation subjected Aleksey, as well as his lawyer, to other unlawful actions.
After the beating by CPE officers Aleksey's health deteriorated badly. After his release from the pre-trial detention centre he underwent examinations and was given a referral to hospital. When the head of the investigative department Malikova and the investigator learned of this, direct pressure began to be exerted on the medical staff in order to prevent Aleksey's hospitalisation. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/5593.html The investigator unlawfully seized the medical records of Aleksey and of his wife Evgenia (the arbitrariness affected her too), the head physician of the polyclinic wrote a certificate stating that "Podnebesny's state of health does not prevent him from taking part in investigative actions" (although the day before an ambulance had been called for Aleksey and had recorded that he had suffered a heart attack and had neurocirculatory dystonia.
Then the hospital referral was removed from his records, and the deputy head physician, in a cynical manner and in the presence of witnesses, instructed the therapist that if Podnebesny came for an appointment again she was to report it to the prosecutor's office immediately, and told Aleksey himself that if he came to the polyclinic to see a doctor once more in order to obtain a hospital referral, she would call the police and Aleksey would be taken to the "loony bin". There are witnesses to this incredible arbitrariness who heard all of it.
And Aleksey's lawyer had a computer and a flash drive with information relating to Aleksey's defence stolen from him. The theft was committed on the eve of the rally of 22 October against police and judicial arbitrariness, held in defence of Aleksey Podnebesny. http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/3452.html
At the rally Aleksey was once again handed a prosecutor's warning in which, once again on the basis of a CPE memorandum, it was stated that Aleksey supposedly belonged to extremist organisations, and that the peaceful rally was supposedly aimed at "compromising and undermining the authority of police officers and government bodies in the eyes of the population, and disrupting the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the sixth convocation". http://freeundersky.livejournal.com/3653.html
The door of the law office was broken open, and only the office of Aleksey's lawyer was robbed; moreover, only the computer's system unit was stolen, other valuables were left untouched — the robbers were clearly interested not in material gain but in the information that might be there. The police who arrived at the scene of the theft merely paralysed the work of the law office and began examining everything, possibly looking for something the robbers had not found. The theft remains unsolved to this day.
The telephone of Aleksey and his relatives is still being tapped; after his release from the pre-trial detention centre all his movements were under surveillance, and he and his relatives more than once noticed men in plain clothes relentlessly following them.
From sources in the prosecutor's office who, for understandable reasons, wished to remain anonymous, it became known that the prosecutor's office had agreed with the court that Aleksey Podnebesny should be given a real term of imprisonment of no less than 8 years. This is the prosecutor's office taking revenge on Aleksey for his exposé publications and his book, and, on the part of the CPE, a way of removing Aleksey from public and political activity.
Lobachevsky University. Faculty of Law
Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University Faculty of Law N. Novgorod, 4 Ashkhabadskaya St.
Character reference
Podnebesny Aleksey Nikolaevich, born 04.07.1978, studied at the Faculty of Law of Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University from September 1998 to June 2003 by correspondence course on a state-funded basis. In 2003 he passed the entrance examinations and the competitive selection and entered the postgraduate programme of the Faculty of Law of UNN on a state-funded basis. He passed the candidate's minimum examinations (specialty 12.00.08 – criminal law and criminology, penal law) in full with marks of "excellent". He completed his postgraduate studies in 2007, submitting his dissertation to the department.
Over the period of his studies he showed himself in a positive light and established himself as a capable, disciplined and diligent student. Podnebesny A. N. is well-mannered and friendly, and enjoyed authority among the students. He combined his studies with work. He successfully mastered the material of his academic disciplines. In the main general-education and specialised disciplines, as well as in his term papers, he received mostly excellent and good marks. His final qualifying thesis in the discipline of "criminal law" on the topic "Psychological Violence: Criminal-Law and Psychological Aspects" is distinguished by its independence and is creative in character.
During his introductory and practical training placements at the investigative directorate of the Nizhegorodsky District Internal Affairs Directorate of the city of N. Novgorod, Podnebesny Aleksey Nikolaevich demonstrated good knowledge of criminal, civil and administrative legislation and the skills to apply it in practice. He established himself as a conscientious and dutiful trainee possessing analytical thinking. The references obtained by Podnebesny A. N. from his places of practical training testify to his acquisition of a high level of professional training in the course of his studies.
From 2002 he successfully combined his studies at the faculty, and later in the postgraduate programme, with work at the prosecutor's office of the Shakhunsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Podnebesny A. N. took an active part in the work of the student scientific society, spoke at conferences, and took part in the competition for the best student research work.
During his time at the faculty and in the postgraduate programme Podnebesny A. N. was awarded diplomas and certificates of merit from international, all-Russian and regional scientific and practical conferences:
- Third-degree Diploma of the Department of Education and Science of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Council of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Nizhny Novgorod Region, and the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Council for Student Research Work for participation in the 50th regional competition for the best student research work in the section "legal sciences", June 2001
- Certificate of Merit from the Dean of the Law Faculty of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod for outstanding achievements in academic and research work, 27 November 2001.
- Second-degree Diploma of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Session of Young Scientists, Humanities, Department of Education and Science of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod Region, 2006.
- Certificate for 2nd place at the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Second Derzhavin Readings", Law Faculty of the Russian Academy of Law of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation (RPA MYu RF), Moscow, November 2006.
- First-degree Diploma of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Session of Young Scientists, Humanities, Department of Education and Science of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod Region, 2007.
- A.N. Podnebesny was also awarded a state decoration of the Russian Federation — the Medal of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation "For the Best Student Research Work", following the open competition for the best student research work in the natural, technical and humanities sciences at higher education institutions of the Russian Federation, February 2002.
As a postgraduate student and young scholar he is the author of 23 academic publications, published in academic journals and collections of scholarly papers, including in periodicals recommended by the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) for publishing the results of dissertation research.
Throughout his studies A.N. Podnebesny was never observed to breach discipline. Within the collective he proved to be a dependable comrade, ready to help his fellow students. He is a person of high moral qualities.
He neither smokes nor drinks alcohol and avoids conflict situations. In communication he is open and sincere, capable of making considered independent decisions. He takes responsibility for the decisions he makes and the actions he performs.
As part of his postgraduate teaching practice, from 2003 to 2007 A.N. Podnebesny conducted seminars at the Law Faculty of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, as well as at the College of Law.
From September 2005 to January 2009 he worked as a lecturer in criminology and criminal law at the Distance Learning Centre of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod under a civil-law contract (hourly pay).[10]
He proved himself a conscientious employee, organised the teaching process and the monitoring of students' mastery of the material to a high standard, received no reprimands, and enjoyed the respect of students and teaching staff alike.
Dean of the Law Faculty of the Lobachevsky University V.I. Tsyganov
Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Diocese, parish of the Cathedral in the Name of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky
Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Diocese PARISH OF THE CATHEDRAL IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY RIGHT-BELIEVING PRINCE ALEXANDER NEVSKY OF THE CITY OF NIZHNY NOVGOROD 603086, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, Strelka, bldg. 3a, tel/fax: (831)277-99-26
To the Prosecutor of Nizhny Novgorod Region
CHARACTER REFERENCE
Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny has been studying at the Catechism Courses at the Cathedral in the Name of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky since September 2010. In June 2011 he successfully completed the first year. During his studies he showed himself in a positive light: responsible, diligent, deeply interested in the subjects studied. In the first-year examinations he received the mark "excellent" in the subjects: New Testament, Old Testament, History of the Church, Catechism.
He approaches his studies with interest, and his teachers with respect and gratitude.
In his relations with teachers and with other students he is polite, deferential, friendly, benevolent and modest; towards his elders he is respectful and attentive. He received no reprimands. He took part in parish life and carried out obediences in the church. He was preparing for catechetical and missionary work, for which he has both an inclination and an aptitude.
He takes part in the work of adorning the Cathedral and responds with understanding to requests to labour for the cathedral parish. His relations with fellow students are friendly. He takes part in the group's affairs.
Aleksey is a churchgoing Orthodox person who strives to build his life in accordance with the commandments of Christ. He is responsive and ready to help others. The news of the accusation against Aleksey greatly astonished us; we believe it requires a thorough examination.
We ask the court not to impose on Aleksey a punishment in the form of imprisonment; we consider such a measure entirely superfluous. Aleksey can bring far more benefit to society at liberty.
HEAD OF THE CATECHISM COURSES KEY-KEEPER OF THE CATHEDRAL IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY RIGHT-BELIEVING PRINCE ALEXANDER NEVSKY
Archpriest Sergiy Matveev
Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Movement for the Protection and Realisation of Citizens' Housing Rights
Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Movement for the Protection and Realisation of Citizens' Housing Rights "SOLIDARITY"
603139 Nizhny Novgorod, ul. Gaugelya, 16-7 (831) 227-79-56
To the investigative authorities and the court
Character reference and petition
This character reference is given for Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny. We know A.N. Podnebesny because he has taken part in the activities of our movement since its founding in 2007. The "Solidarity" movement operates in accordance with the law "On Public Associations" without forming a legal entity.
We can characterise him in a positive light. Aleksey Nikolayevich possesses such qualities as honesty, decency and responsiveness. He takes an active civic stance, participates in the work of non-profit public organisations and himself organises actions on the problems of infill development and other socially significant topics. Our movement has taken part many times in rallies organised by A.N. Podnebesny, and we can confirm that all the public events he organised were held in strict compliance with the requirements of the law; neither he himself nor other participants in the actions committed the slightest breach of the rules for holding public events. We consider that this testifies to Aleksey Nikolayevich's high respect for the law and for public order in general. We believe that, given his character and thanks to his legal education, he could not be the first to attack another person.
We ask the court to show particular attention when considering A.N. Podnebesny's case, since the charge against him leaves us bewildered; we believe that Aleksey Nikolayevich may have become the victim of a provocation.
Taking into account the positive character reference for A.N. Podnebesny and his active work in the field of constructive public activity aimed at disinterested help to other people, we consider the imposition on A.N. Podnebesny of a punishment in the form of imprisonment entirely superfluous.
Co-chairs of the movement: V. N. Maslov A. I. Svetlichny
Orthodox Youth Movement of Nizhny Novgorod «Loza»
Orthodox Youth Movement of Nizhny Novgorod «Loza»
Address: 603109, Nizhny Novgorod, ul. Sergiyevskaya, 25a. tel: 8-920-020-66-44 2011
To the investigative authorities and the court
CHARACTER REFERENCE for Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny, and petition
Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny has been a permanent member of the Orthodox Youth Movement of Nizhny Novgorod «Loza» since 2009. The Orthodox Youth Movement was created and operates with the blessing of Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas.
We, the members of the Orthodox Youth Movement «Loza», can characterise A.N. Podnebesny as a responsive, kind and hard-working person, always ready to help both acquaintances and even strangers.
Aleksey Nikolayevich took an active part in the organisation's work: he helped to conduct Orthodox discussions, to organise environmental and volunteer actions, and also took part in various conferences held in Nizhny Novgorod. Aleksey Podnebesny filmed and edited two video clips and a film on Orthodox subjects. We can confirm that A.N. Podnebesny leads an Orthodox way of life, often goes on pilgrimages to holy places, and has no bad habits.
We, the members of the movement, address you with a petition. We ask you to examine thoroughly the charge brought against Aleksey Podnebesny, since, knowing Aleksey, we consider that he is incapable of deliberately attacking a person with the aim of causing harm to health. This completely contradicts his faith and moral principles and is entirely uncharacteristic of his behaviour.
We also ask the court not to impose on Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny a punishment in the form of imprisonment, as we see no grounds for isolating him from society. We confirm that A.N. Podnebesny is a decent, believing Orthodox Christian, lives by the Commandments of Christ and is therefore incapable of committing any crime. Our organisation can vouch for him.
Head of the Orthodox Youth Movement of Nizhny Novgorod «Loza» S.A. Talanov
Spiritual father of the movement Cleric of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Priest Fr. Igor Balabanov
"Nizhny Novgorod Centre for the Spiritualisation of Education" and the "Brahma Kumaris" Centre
To the Presiding Judge of the court
Character reference for Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny
We, the heads and members of the public organisations named below, know Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny as a responsible, noble and believing person. For several years, since 2006, he has been engaged in responsible public activity aimed at solving serious social problems: the ecology of the city, the protection of green spaces from destruction, the protection of animals, excessive infill development harmful to the city's residents, and others.
We consider that, by his moral and ethical qualities, Aleksey Nikolayevich could not have committed the crime imputed to him (attempted murder, the use of violence dangerous to life and health). We know him as an intelligent, kind, responsive, compassionate and, moreover, deeply believing person. Therefore his accusation of the said unlawful acts does not correspond to the morality and norms of behaviour of a believing person. Consequently, the investigation of the case is probably proceeding along a path shaped by someone's interest and planning, which will be uncovered in due course, rather than in accordance with a striving of justice to establish the truth. Aleksey Nikolayevich has a young family; he is a caring and loving husband. He is the son of an elderly disabled mother who needs constant care. For several years Aleksey Nikolayevich showed concern for the common human needs and the well-being of the people of Nizhny Novgorod. And suddenly, according to the investigation's materials, he becomes a socially dangerous criminal who, in someone's opinion, must be isolated from society.
We appeal to you and to all representatives of the court with a request to conduct a thorough examination of the circumstances and motives of what happened, as well as of the mitigating circumstances. We consider it entirely inexpedient to apply to A.N. Podnebesny a punishment in the form of imprisonment, since he poses no danger to society and, on the contrary, in his activity defends the rights and the conditions of a normal and prosperous life for citizens.
Respectfully, President of the regional public organisation "Nizhny Novgorod Centre for the Spiritualisation of Education" (short name "School of Life") N. Shulakov
Regional cultural and educational public organisation Nizhny Novgorod Brahma Kumaris Centre M. Zhilova
The «Dront» Ecological Centre, the «Living Planet» association and the «Bioethics» organisation
Character reference for Aleksey Nikolayevich Podnebesny
Podnebesny Alexey Nikolaevich, who holds a higher education degree in law, has been a member of the public environmental organisation "Bioethics" since 2007 and an activist of the structural subdivision of the Dront Ecocentre, the "Living Planet" association.
During his time with the organisation he has shown himself to be a responsible and kind person who loves and protects animals and nature. Alexey loves children, treats the elderly kindly, cares for animals and the surrounding nature, always helps those in need and has never hurt anyone. He leads a healthy lifestyle, does not drink or smoke, adheres to vegetarianism, and possesses a high religious and moral culture.
Having worked alongside Alexey Podnebesny in joint public activity for many years, we know him as a responsive, patient, hard-working and purposeful comrade, sympathetic and attentive to the needs of citizens. He is marked by fairness, decency, and correct and tactful conduct in critical situations. Our organisation is prepared to vouch for him.
Alexey Podnebesny has put much effort into protecting green plantings in Nizhny Novgorod from destruction; in particular, he organised campaigns to protect the A. S. Pushkin Park from felling and to protect the homeless animals of Nizhny Novgorod from inhumane treatment, and during numerous public actions (rallies, pickets, seminars, meetings and so on) he promoted a careful attitude towards nature and humaneness. He is a defender of Lake Svetloyar. As a human rights defender he selflessly helped many citizens, including pensioners and people with disabilities, to defend their rights. He took part in events held by the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod together with NGOs.
We ask the court to examine the circumstances of what happened thoroughly. Knowing Alexey Podnebesny very well, we do not believe that he could have committed a deliberate crime. We know Alexey as an exceptionally truthful, honest person who cannot bear lies and hypocrisy; he is incapable of speaking untruth or of acting against his conscience. The defence of truth and justice is his life's work, and it is to this that he has devoted his active public activity, including within our organisations. At the same time he always observed the law and insisted on the need to follow the law in every case. We believe that what happened, of which Alexey is accused, was either caused by a coincidence of tragic circumstances or possibly is the result of a provocation. We hope that the Court will establish the truth in the case.
We ask the court to release Alexey Podnebesny from an unfounded accusation and not to impose upon Alexey Podnebesny a punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty, since Alexey is useful to society and can help many people, as well as the cause of protecting animals and nature, while at liberty and engaged in socially useful work as a member of the "Living Planet" and "Bioethics" associations. Good people like Alexey Podnebesny are very much needed by our society.
Chairwoman of the "Living Planet" association V. N. Vorobyova (tel.: 4330145)
Coordinator of environmental projects T. S. Antonova (tel.: 4681265)
Character reference from the place of residence (more than 150 signatures)
To the investigative bodies and the court
From the residents of Kovalikhinskaya, Frunze and other streets Nizhny Novgorod
Character reference for Podnebesny Alexey Nikolaevich and petition
We, residents of apartment buildings on Kovalikhinskaya Street, Frunze Street and others, know Podnebesny Alexey Nikolaevich through his public activity. He repeatedly helped us in holding authorised rallies against infill development in Nizhny Novgorod and proved himself a person with a positive and firm civic stance, always ready to come selflessly to the rescue.
Alexey repeatedly helped us, the residents of Kovalikhinskaya and Frunze streets, in defending our civil rights in the fight against spot development on the grounds of our buildings. He instilled confidence in our actions and helped us hold various public events on lawful grounds. Thanks to his help we, the residents of Kovalikhinskaya and Frunze streets, achieved good results and continue to act further. We know Alexey as a balanced and correct person; he adheres to the principles of Orthodoxy, does not drink or smoke, and has no bad habits. The struggle for the rights of ordinary citizens was his life's work. We do not rule out that the incident that happened to him was planned by people to whom he is inconvenient, in particular by developers, since Alexey actively spoke out against illegal infill development in Nizhny Novgorod[11] as a whole, and was known for his principled position in defending citizens from lawlessness and corruption, and repeatedly spoke about this in the media.
Alexey Podnebesny is not a person dangerous to society, and there is no need to isolate him from society. On the contrary, we would like to see him working in his real profession as a lawyer, and not in a prison cell. Alexey Podnebesny is an intelligent and highly educated person; he completed postgraduate studies at the law faculty of the Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University, has a number of publications and awards for works on criminal law, and experience of working in the prosecutor's office. However, he turned out to be out of place in a corrupt environment and devoted his life to human rights and public activity.
We ask the court, when deciding the question of sentencing, to take into account Alexey's positive character reference, his significant contribution to the protection of the public interests both of the residents of our streets and of Nizhny Novgorod as a whole, and not to impose upon Alexey Podnebesny a punishment involving deprivation of liberty.
150 signatures of citizens; head of building 72, Kovalikhinskaya Street, S. Orekhov
To the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev
Dear Valery Shantsev !
The public of the Nizhny Novgorod Region is concerned about the situation connected with the criminal prosecution of the public figure, lawyer and human rights defender Alexey Podnebesny.
For the past several years Alexey Podnebesny has been engaged in public activity that has brought great benefit to Nizhny Novgorod. Thus, he organised many public actions, assistance and legal consultations in resolving the problems of infill development in Nizhny Novgorod, in the sphere of inflated tariffs for the capital repair of apartment buildings in Nizhny Novgorod, and in the field of protecting the homeless animals of Nizhny Novgorod from inhumane treatment. In the listed spheres of public activity, significant positive changes were achieved thanks to Alexey's activity.
In the end, in our view, Alexey Podnebesny became the victim of a provocation that could have been organised by representatives of developers whose commercial interests suffered as a result of the ban on illegal infill construction. We recall that the initiative group of Kovalikha residents, one of whose leaders is Alexey Podnebesny, actively opposed illegal infill construction, and in June 2011 the head of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod, O. Kondrashov, came out in favour of banning infill construction both on Kovalikha and throughout Nizhny Novgorod.
In July 2011 Alexey and his wife Evgenia were attacked at night by a group of drunken hooligans in the forest near Lake Svetloyar (the village of Vladimirskoye, Voskresensky District), where Alexey was on a pilgrimage trip. Acting in necessary self-defence, Alexey inflicted a minor wound on one of the attackers. The next morning Alexey was arrested by officers of the Centre for Combating Extremism, placed in a pre-trial detention centre and brutally beaten by police officers; a criminal case was opened against him, first under Article 111 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and then[12] under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The charges in these cases are based on confessions beaten out of him during torture by officers of the Centre for Countering Extremism.
Thus, A. Podnebesny was subjected to harsh criminal prosecution which, as is becoming obvious, is closely connected with his public activity: a search was carried out in Alexey's home by the Centre for Countering Extremism of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs[6] for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, during which computers, video cassettes and other information carriers were seized, including notes and diaries, yet no confirmation of Alexey Podnebesny's involvement in extremist activity was found.
The case is acquiring wide public resonance. We therefore appeal to you, as the highest official of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, with a request to take the Podnebesny case under your control. We hope that in the investigation of the criminal cases in which Alexey Podnebesny is the accused, no injustice or violation of legality will be permitted. Alexey Podnebesny is a law-abiding member of our society, his activity has brought considerable benefit to Nizhny Novgorod and to the people of Nizhny Novgorod, he is a talented young scholar, the author of more than 20 scientific publications, an experienced lawyer, and[23] simply a responsive and honest person — of whom there are now very few — and we would like to see him at liberty, working in his profession, and not in a prison cell on a fabricated criminal case.
11.10.11 75 signatures
To the Prosecutor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Nizhny Novgorod, Izhorskaya Street 25
Appeal
We, the residents of the buildings at 72 Kovalikhinskaya Street and 23 Frunze Street, address you with a petition for the release from custody of Podnebesny Alexey Nikolaevich, born in 1978, currently held in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Nizhny Novgorod Region (26a Gagarin Avenue), under any restriction of his freedom not involving deprivation of liberty for the duration of the pre-trial proceedings. We know Alexey only from the positive side, as a person with a firm civic stance. He helped us hold authorised rallies against infill development in the city of[23] Nizhny Novgorod and proved himself a balanced and correct person. In addition, we know that Alexey adheres to the principles of Orthodoxy, does not drink or smoke, and is always ready to come to the rescue. We can vouch for him.
On behalf of the residents of our buildings — Head of the building at 72 Kovalikhinskaya Street Orekhov S. A. Head of the building at 23 Frunze Street___Pavlov N. A.
To the Prosecutor's Office of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and of the city of Nizhny Novgorod
We, residents of apartment buildings on Kovalikhinskaya Street, address you with a petition for the release from custody of Podnebesny Alexey Nikolaevich, born 1978, held in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
At present Alexey's state of health has greatly deteriorated. Chronic illnesses have worsened and new ones have appeared. He needs qualified medical care, and his further stay in the detention centre will only aggravate his condition. We ask that he be released under any, even the strictest, forms of restriction of freedom for the duration of the investigative measures. We can characterise Podnebesny A. K. only from the positive side. He is a believing person with no bad habits, always ready to respond to requests for help. Since Podnebesny is not an antisocial person, his release from the detention centre will do no harm to society. What happened greatly surprised us and requires a thorough investigation of the cause of this incident.
We earnestly ask you to heed our request, so that one tragedy does not lead to another.
Residents of Kovalikhinskaya Street (about 100 signatures of residents of various buildings)
To the President of Russia
Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich!
Within the walls of a pre-trial detention centre (No. 1 of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod Region — Institution IZ-52/1, Nizhny Novgorod 603950, 26a Gagarin Avenue) there is a man whose life's work was the struggle for the rights of ordinary citizens.
To many residents of Nizhny Novgorod, Alexey Podnebesny is known as an implacable fighter against spot development and UNLAWFUL actions of the authorities. Residents of the buildings on Kovalikhinskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod believe that without his efforts and skilful organisation of resistance it would have been impossible to stop the illegal construction.
At present he is isolated from society, beaten half to death by police officers (according to his mother, his coordination of movement and his speech are impaired), and he has been denied medical care. He is being accused of extremism! — which has never been part of his activity.
Alexei Podnebesny is an exceptionally cultured and highly educated man; he completed postgraduate studies at the Law Faculty of Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University, has a number of publications and awards[23] for works on criminal law, and experience of work in the prosecutor's office. However, he turned out to be out of place in a corrupt environment.[23] This unbending man has great strength of spirit, and we would like to see him working in his real profession rather than in a police station where venality and corruption continue to reign. I think that a personal meeting with him would also be exceptionally useful to you, since he possesses knowledge precisely in the field in which you wish to restore order. There are only a handful of such people. I do not rule out that the incident which befell him was planned by people to whom he is inconvenient. Urgent intervention is needed to preserve the life and health of A. Podnebesny.
The appendix contains about a hundred signatures. Author of the appeal: a resident of house 51 on Kovalikhinskaya Street, Kornev Alexander Nikolaevich, research scientist, Doctor of Chemical Sciences.
Nizhny Novgorod regional public movement for the protection and realization of citizens' housing rights “SOLIDARNOST”
Not to be confused with K. Baranovsky's “Solidarnost” — note of the Nizhny Novgorod Encyclopedia.
Open statement in connection with the fabrication of the criminal prosecution of the human rights defender A. N. Podnebesny
603139 Nizhny Novgorod, 16-7 Gaugelya St. (831) 227-79-56
23 September 2011 No. 11
To the President of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev To the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation R. G. Nurgaliev To the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yu. Ya. Chaika To the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation A. I. Bastrykin To the Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service A. A. Reimer To the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation V. P. Lukin
Open statement in connection with the fabrication of the criminal prosecution of the Nizhny Novgorod human rights defender A. N. Podnebesny
In August 2011 the Nizhny Novgorod regional public movement “Solidarnost” received statements from the mother and the wife of Alexei Nikolaevich Podnebesny, a human rights defender well known in Nizhny Novgorod and a former employee of the prosecutor's office, in connection with his arrest. The statements contain a request to help A. Podnebesny. On 22 July 2011 he was charged with a criminal offence under Article 111, part 1 (intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm), which he allegedly committed against a man on 16 July at about 23:00 near Lake[9] Svetloyar in the Voskresensky district of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. The media have already reported on this. After A. Podnebesny's detention, on 22 July 2011 the district court chose detention in custody as the preventive measure for a term of 2 months.
According to the testimony of his wife, E. A. Podnebesnaya, and according to A. Podnebesny himself, as set out in the cassation appeal to the regional court and voiced in the courtroom on 3 August 2011, events developed as follows. On the evening of 16 July 2011, during their walk along the shore of the lake, two drunken men accosted them with threats, one of whom attacked A. Podnebesny with his fists. But the young man who attacked ran into a knife that Podnebesny had held out for the purposes of self-defence. This allowed the Podnebesnys to escape from the pursuit, which continued all night. They heard shots while doing so.
The attacking man, having received a wound to the stomach, was quickly taken to hospital, operated on, and discharged from hospital two weeks later. On the morning of 18 June, when they were already at home in Nizhny Novgorod, unknown persons began breaking into their flat, threatening to force the door. Taking them for hooligans, A. Podnebesny left the flat via the balcony and, thanks to the use of a gas spray canister, managed to escape pursuit by a man in plain clothes who, as it later turned out, is an officer of the centre for countering extremism within the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs for Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. On the evening of the same day, A. Podnebesny's wife was subjected to a five-hour interrogation at Centre “E”.
On the night of 19 July a search was carried out in the flat, a computer and other valuables were seized, and the doors were broken down.[12] Podnebesny was arrested on 21 July. During the arrest and after it he was subjected to a severe beating, although, contrary to the assertions of the law enforcement officers, he offered no resistance.[12] Until then he had been at the dacha of his mother, an invalid of the first group. Despite A. Podnebesny's grave condition, qualified medical assistance was not given to him. The ambulance paramedic issued only analgin tablets. Only after A. Podnebesny declared a hunger strike on 1 August was he taken to a doctor, who, however, said that his health was quite all right. The petitions for the selection of a different preventive measure (not involving deprivation of liberty), and also for a forensic medical examination, were not granted.
The numerous complaints of Podnebesny, his relatives and public organizations about the actions of the law enforcement bodies, which violate the rights and freedoms of man and citizen enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, produced almost nothing. The prosecutor's office of the Voskresensky district replied that medical assistance had allegedly been given to Podnebesny at the temporary detention facility of the Voskresensky district police department as early as 22 July, that his condition was satisfactory and that he did not require hospitalization. Later an analogous formal reply about Podnebesny's state of health was received from the FKU SIZO-1 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, and moreover in handwritten and barely legible form.
The Commissioner for Human Rights for Nizhny Novgorod Oblast got off with an enumeration of articles of laws and points of instructions. The appeals to the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and to the regional prosecutor's office in connection with the unlawful actions of law enforcement officers remained without an answer on the merits. For us all this is nothing new. We have repeatedly appealed to the law enforcement bodies for the protection of residents of Nizhny Novgorod and, as a rule, received soulless formal replies. Given that A. Podnebesny is an active campaigner against unlawful infill development in Nizhny Novgorod, we have every reason to assume that at Lake Svetloyar there took place either an attempt on the life of the human rights defender A. Podnebesny, or a provocation organized with the aim of isolating him from society.
During his human rights activity he made enemies among developers, since, relying on Article 14 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, by means of civil actions and together with residents he obtained recognition by the authorities of violations of the law when they allotted land in the city centre for infill development. It is not to be excluded that Centre “E” and the developers acted in concert, since Centre “E” has to justify its existence, and for that it has to find extremists where there are none, creating the appearance of work. The public actions organized by Podnebesny caused a great public resonance and found broad support among the population, which led to serious dissatisfaction on the part of corrupt officials interested in Podnebesny's isolation.
The prosecutor's office may also be interested in the isolation of A. Podnebesny from society. He took the path of human rights activity after he had been unlawfully dismissed from the Prosecutor's Office, where he had worked for 2.5 years. Working there, he became a witness to numerous violations of the law on the part of law enforcement officers, which he described in his book “In the Second Circle”. Whose rights the Prosecutor's Office of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast actually protects is easy to understand if one goes to its official website. Among the site's sections there is the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs, but there is no protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
And this despite the fact that part 2 of Article 1 of the law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation” describes in detail the supervisory and other functions which the Prosecutor's Office is obliged to perform “for the purposes of ensuring the supremacy of the law, the unity and strengthening of legality, the protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, and also of the interests of society and the state protected by law”. We consider that the Prosecutor's Office must fulfil the requirements of part 2 of Article 27 of the law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”: “Where there are grounds to believe that a violation of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen bears the character of a crime, the prosecutor takes measures[17] to ensure that the persons who committed it are subjected to criminal prosecution in accordance with the law”.
On 21 September 2011 Podnebesny was released from custody on a written undertaking not to leave. However, the criminal prosecution against him has not been terminated; on the contrary, one more criminal case has been fabricated, charging Podnebesny under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (use of violence against a representative of authority) in connection[18] with his use of a gas spray canister for self-defence against pursuit by a man in plain clothes.
It appears to us, firstly, that the higher law enforcement bodies should terminate the criminal prosecution of A. Podnebesny, since his actions, in our view, should be qualified as necessary defence (Article 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and innocent infliction of harm (Article 28, part 2). At the same time it is necessary to institute criminal proceedings against the men who attacked the Podnebesny couple, under Article 105 (murder) or Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Apparently, they committed an inchoate crime. In accordance with part 3 of Article 29 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, “criminal liability for an inchoate crime arises under the article of this Code providing for liability for the completed crime…”.[19]
Secondly, we propose to institute criminal proceedings against the law enforcement officers who took part in the detention and beating of A. Podnebesny, and also in the carrying out of the unlawful search and the unlawful interception of telephone conversations - under Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the inviolability of private life), Article 138 (violation of the secrecy of correspondence and telephone conversations), 139, part 3 (violation of the inviolability of the home), Article 162, parts 3, 4 (robbery), Article 167 (intentional destruction of or damage to property), Article 112 (intentional infliction of harm of medium gravity to health), Article 286 (exceeding official powers).
Thirdly, we consider it necessary to institute criminal proceedings under Article 125 (leaving in danger), and also under Article 292, part 2 (official forgery), against the law enforcement officers and medical workers who did not take the necessary measures to provide medical assistance to A. Podnebesny, to carry out a forensic medical examination and expert assessment, but, in all likelihood, fabricated ambulance call cards and filed them with the documentation. Fourthly, we propose to take measures of an administrative character against the persons who violated Articles 10 and 12 of the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals of citizens of the Russian Federation”.
The Prosecutor's Office should also pay close attention to the actions of the Nizhny Novgorod Centre for Combating Extremism of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs for Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, since, according to reports on the Internet, cases of unlawful actions by officers of this Centre have become more frequent. The unlawful and crude methods of activity of the Nizhny Novgorod Centre “E” provoke a negative attitude of the population towards the law enforcement bodies as a whole and constitute a socially dangerous act.
We consider that in the situation which has developed there are no legal grounds for the criminal prosecution of A. N. Podnebesny.
Representatives of the law enforcement bodies who sabotage the performance of their duties even after they have been approached for help, and who commit arbitrary acts against human rights defenders, are driving themselves into a meat grinder like the one which in their time were built by I. Stalin and his close entourage. But this is so only if the people obediently follow the will of the next dictator. We do not call for violent actions against legal arbitrariness on the part of officials who have gone too far. However, we recall that the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, records: “it is essential that human rights should be protected by the power of law, in order that man be not compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression”. And, proceeding from part four of Article 15 of the Constitution of Russia, the generally recognized norms of international law are a constituent part of its legal system.
It is known what the actions of those in power lead to when they attempt to rule by the principle of expediency and in violation of the generally recognized norms of human coexistence reflected in legislation. Another “case of the death of Magnitsky” in a Nizhny Novgorod version must not be allowed.
Co-chairs of the movement: V. N. Maslov, A. I. Svetlichny
Petition of the regional committee of the CPRF
Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
To the investigative bodies and the court
Petition concerning Podnebesny Alexei Nikolaevich
Alexei Nikolaevich Podnebesny is known to us from the positive side. Nizhny Novgorod Regional Committee repeatedly took part in rallies against infill development organized by A. N. Podnebesny together with initiative groups of citizens. All the public events were organized by A. N. Podnebesny in the strictest compliance with the law and provoked no complaints whatsoever from the law enforcement bodies.
A. N. Podnebesny took part on behalf of the Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of the CPRF in the work of the electoral commission with the right to vote during the elections to the Regional Legislative Assembly and there too showed himself to be a disciplined, reliable man who strictly fulfils the requirements of the law.
A. N. Podnebesny is a talented organizer; for many years he has been helping ordinary citizens, residents of Nizhny Novgorod, to defend their rights in the housing sphere and the sphere of communal services. A. N. Podnebesny is also an animal rights defender and conducts educational work among young people regarding a careful attitude to the environment. A. N. Podnebesny has repeatedly appeared in the media with articles about violations of citizens' rights and about corruption, which speaks of his active and conscious civic position, of his striving to make life in our society more just, to overcome lawlessness and legal arbitrariness.
By character A.N. Podnebesny is responsive, good-natured, open, benevolent, implacable towards evil and injustice, eager to help those in need of assistance and protection.
We believe that Alexey Podnebesny is engaged in activity that brings great benefit to society as a whole and to Nizhny Novgorod in particular. Thus, he put a great deal of effort into resolving the problem of infill development in N.Novgorod, into the area of unlawfully inflated tariffs for the capital repair of apartment buildings in N.Novgorod, and into the area of protecting stray animals in N.Novgorod from inhumane treatment, and in all these areas significant positive results were achieved thanks to his activity.
We ask the court, when deciding the question of the punishment to be imposed on A.N. Podnebesny, to take into account his positive character reference and his contribution to the positive resolution of serious social problems, and not to impose on A.N. Podnebesny a punishment involving deprivation of liberty.
Secretary of the committee of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Committee V.I. Egorov
Key dates
On 21 July 2011 A. Podnebesny was detained by police officers; on 22 July 2011 he was arrested with the sanction of the Voskresenskoye (settlement) district court.[6]
On 21 September 2011 he was released from custody on a written undertaking not to leave.
On 6 March 2012 the trial began in the Voskresenskoye (settlement) district court.
On 18 July 2012 the court announced its verdict, by which A. Podnebesny was found guilty of committing the crimes provided for by: part 1 of article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm"), that is, of inflicting a knife wound on N. Ibragimov; part 2 of article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("use of violence dangerous to health against a representative of authority"), that is, of spraying pepper gas from a canister into the eyes of police officer Golyshev, who was trying to detain him. By the court's sentence Podnebesny was given a punishment of 4 years of deprivation of liberty suspended, with a probation period of 4 years.[21] The court also obliged Podnebesny to pay compensation for the harm caused to the victim Ibragimov. The sentence entered into legal force.
The prosecution's version
The official version of the investigation, set out on the website of the investigative directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Nizhny Novgorod Region, looks like this:
«13.12.2011 14:07 In the Nizhegorodsky District a man accused of attempted murder and of the use of violence against a representative of authority will stand trial
The investigative department for the Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod of the Investigative Committee for Nizhny Novgorod Region has completed the investigation of a criminal case against a 33-year-old resident of Nizhny Novgorod accused of committing the crim[22]es provided for by part 3 of article 30, part 1 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted murder); part 2 of article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (use of violence dangerous to health against a representative of authority).
According to the investigation, late in the evening of 16 July 2011 the offender, together with his wife, while walking around Svetloyar, located in the village of Vladimirskoye of the Voskresensky district, could not pass two men walking towards him: neither wanted to give way. In the quarrel that arose on these grounds he inflicted a wound to the chest of the victim with a knife he had on him, and fled the scene. An acquaintance of the victim gave him first aid and called an ambulance, which took him to the municipal institution "Voskresenskaya Central District Hospital", where he was given highly qualified medical assistance, thanks to which he survived.
In the daytime of 18 July 2011 two operational officers of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod Region, acting within the framework of the criminal case opened over the above episode, arrived with the aim of detaining the suspect at his[22] place of residence, an apartment in a building on Kovalikhinskaya Street in N.Novgorod. The suspect, who was at home, refused to open the door to the police, climbed down from the second-floor balcony and tried to escape. The law enforcement officer caught up with the fleeing man, but the latter sprayed a canister of pepper gas into his face, causing bodily injuries in the form of a chemical burn of the eyes.
The investigator has gathered a sufficient body of evidence, in connection with which the criminal case, after approval of the indictment, has been sent to court for consideration on the merits.»[22]
On 14 December 2011 the chairwoman of the Nizhegorodsky district court of Nizhny Novgorod issued a ruling transferring the criminal case, by jurisdiction, to the Voskresensky district court of Nizhny Novgorod Region, since the first of the crimes imputed to A.N. Podnebesny was committed precisely in the Voskresensky District. On 27 December 2011 the said ruling entered into legal force.
Official website of the Investigative Committee for Nizhny Novgorod Region
Statement by A.N. Podnebesny on the submission by police officers of knowingly false information to the case file
To the prosecutor of the Nizhegorodsky District
From Podnebesny Alexey Nikolayevich, Accused in criminal case No. 545071
Statement on the submission by police officers of knowingly false information to the criminal case file[6]
I have previously addressed you concerning the submission, by officers of the Centre for Combating Extremism at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Nizhny Novgorod Region, of knowingly false information to the file of the criminal case against me, as well as sim[6]ilar information to the prosecutor's office of the Nizhegorodsky district, but I received no reply.
Now, while studying the materials of the criminal case, I was shown a new, similar memorandum, which has no bearing on the charges against me in this criminal case, but is intended to create in the investigator and the court a prejudiced attitude towards me as an alleged member of extremist organisations, in which I have never been a member and which I have never supported.
Thus, the "report" of operations officer V.V. Stepnov of the Centre states that I "was the leader of the movement 'Autonomous Action'" and have "extensive ties among activists of the banned organisation recognised as extremist, the 'NBP'". These assertions are false. On the contrary, within the framework of my public activity I have repeatedly publicly voiced criticism of the leadership of the organisation "NBP" ("The Other Russia"), including on air on Volga TV Company", and also on publicly accessible forums on the The Internet" (nn.ru and others). This organisation was never invited to events organised with my participation, and if its activists did take part in them, it was without my invitation. The participation of private individuals in public events cannot be prohibited. Nevertheless, I took measures to stop the distribution of this organisation's newspapers and campaign materials at events organised with my participation.
In addition, the organisation "NBP", being displeased with my criticism of it posted on the internet, repeatedly hacked my mailboxes and websites and sent out false information in my name. The leaders of this organisation speak about me in an extremely negative and even insulting manner, both in the newspapers they publish and on the "internet" on their own websites and on city-wide forums.
In such circumstances it is impossible to have "extensive ties among activists of the 'NBP'". I believe that operations officer V.V. Stepnov supplied the investigator with knowingly false information, not only in order to discredit me and my business reputation, but also to create a prejudiced, accusatory attitude towards me in the investigation and the court, and thus to obt[6]ain from the court a knowingly unjust sentence.
There is also no evidence whatsoever that I was the "leader of the organisation 'Autonomous Action'". Moreover, the assertion that I belong simultaneously to the organisation "Autonomous Action" and to the "NBP" is absurd, since it is a well-known fact that these are two mutually hostile organisations whose activists do not communicate with each other. Yet I was "enrolled" simultaneously in both a nationalist and an anti-nationalist organisation, which is absurd.
If activists of one organisation or another took part in rallies I organised in accordance with the requirements of the law, that does not mean that I am their leader or that I share their views and programmes. For me the requirements of the law and social justice have always come first. I condemn extremism and unlawful ways of solving social problems.
As for the assertion by operations officer V.V. Stepnov about my "possible involvement in a number of crimes of an extremist nature", I consider it necessary to exclude it from the criminal case, since an accusation cannot be based on guesses, conjectu[6]res, or unverified and unproven information, and operations officer V.V. Stepnov himself states that my alleged "involvement" is "possible". With such an approach any person can be suspected of anything, and memoranda about "possible involvement" can be submitted to the investigative bodies and the court, seeking to create in the judges a prejudiced opinion of the defendant as an allegedly dangerous criminal and extremist, which I consider inadmissible and a violation of the accused's rights to defence against an unjust accusation.
I request that a check be carried out into these facts, that the submission of knowingly false information to the file of the criminal case against me be stopped, that the said report be excluded from the body of evidence as inadmissible evidence, and that the measures established by law be taken against those who violate the rights of the accused.
A.N. Podnebesny
In the course of the trial the said memorandum of the Centre for Combating Extremism was excluded by the court as inadmissible evidence obtained in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure, namely, the source of the information presented in the memorandum was not indicated.
Yandex.Money account
- 41001841472790
WebMoney
- R362746432978
Mobile phone
- +7 908 156 28 89, Alexey.
Vkontakte account
Nickname on NN.RU
Mentions in Yandex.News
Websites
"The Podnebesny Case" in discussions on NNRU
- «Was I ordered up by Mayor Sorokin? today I am already accused of murder. The scheme tested on the Dikin brothers» (archive)
- «On human rights defenders — genuine and imaginary» (archive) discussions of an article by Konstantin Borisovich Baranovsky
- «An involuntary rally» (archive) (about the rally against police lawlessness at which A. Podnebesny spoke)
- «A «Public committee for defence against unjust accusation" has been created - news discussion» (archive)
- A protest rally will be held on Saturday, 22 October, at 12 o'clock on Freedom Square by the monument to the year 1905 (archive)
- RESOLUTION OF THE RALLY (archive) (in defence of Alexey Podnebesny against persecution by the authorities)
Interesting facts
- The prosecutor's office continues its repressions against Alexey Podnebesny in the Andropov style. On 1 December, from the local polyclinic, without drawing up any protocols or presenting court decisions or investigator's rulings, on presentation of service IDs and a receipt, the medical file of Alexey Podnebesny WAS SEIZED, as well as the medical file of his wife Evgenia. This was done because the prosecutor's office had fears that Alexey might be admitted to hospital. Shortly before that, Alexey's medical examination had been completed, a concussion and the consequences of a closed craniocerebral injury were established, and a doctor had issued a referral to hospital. Possibly, thanks to the unlawful tapping of the telephone conversations of Alexey Podnebesny and those close to him, the prosecutor's office found this out and decided to deprive Alexey of his constitutional right to medical care.
- According to the value judgement of E. Podnebesnaya (archive) , the immediate superior who gives all the instructions on the repressions against Alexey is the head of the Investigative Department (the former investigation service of the prosecutor's office) O. N. Malikova.
- According to Alexey Podnebesny (archive) , among the replies to his written complaints addressed to the investigation there were statements by Ms. O. N. Malikova claiming that he had "performed a ritual sacrifice of Izralimov", "sprinkling him with blood and running him through". Source: the City forum NNRU, thread "Picket against the unjust accusation of Alexey Podnebesny" (archive) .
- An article about the difficult sexual problems of Alexey Podnebesny, "Podnebesny the paedophile" [2]
See also
Sources
- Lenta.ru — Russian blogger detained for pedophilia previously worked as an investigator, 2024-08-20 (archive)
- avtonom.org — Autonomous Action — Alexey Podnebesny (dossier page) (archive)
- samlib.ru — Samizdat, A. Podnebesny's book "In the Second Circle" — Podnebesny A.N. In the Second Circle, 2008-01-09 (archive)
- Newsroom24 — He worked in the prosecutor's office: who is Alexey Podnebesny, accused of pedophilia, 2024-08-20 (archive)
- NN.RU — An address by Alexey Podnebesny, 2011-12-14 (archive)
- web.archive.org — Novoye Delo newspaper No. 33 of 10 November 2005 (web.archive.org archive) — A slave of the prosecutor's office, 2005-11-10 (archive)
- kriminalnn.ru — Kriminalnaya Khronika NN (Novoye Delo, Anton Deryabin) — Human rights defender Alexey Podnebesny arrested on suspicion of stabbing a passer-by, 2011-08-16 (archive)
- news.mail.ru — Alexey Podnebesny: a biography of the blogger from Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- 360.ru — Alexey Podnebesny: who he is and why a criminal case was opened against the blogger, 2024-08-20 (archive)
- kriminalnn.ru — Kriminalnaya Khronika NN — Human rights defender Podnebesny charged with attempted murder, 2011-12-03 (archive)
- base.garant.ru — Federal Law "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation", Article 27, para. 2 (Garant) — Federal Law of 17 January 1992 No. 2202-I "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation", Article 27, 1992-01-17
- life.ru — The incel Alexey Podnebesny: what is known about him and what he was arrested for, 2024-08-21 (archive)
- consultant.ru — Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 29, part 3 (ConsultantPlus) — Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 29. Completed and inchoate crimes, 1996-06-13 (archive)
- fontanka.ru — Fontanka.ru — "For me this is a death sentence". Podnebesny (a report on the case of Alexey Podnebesny), 2024-08-21
- web.archive.org — Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod Region (skom.nnov.ru, web.archive.org archive) — A man accused of attempted murder and of the use of… will stand trial in the Nizhegorodsky district (archive)
- pravo.gov.ru — Charter of the Nizhny Novgorod Region of 30 December 2005 No. 219-Z (as amended 7 May 2010), official portal pravo.gov.ru, "Legislation of Russia" information system — Charter of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 2005-12-30