Aleksandr Skobov, a member of the Free Russia Forum Council, attended a session of the 1st Western District Military Court via video link from a pre-trial detention center in Komi. He was taken to Syktyvkar for investigative actions (which ones, it is not reported) and for a psychiatric examination (recognized as sane).
At the beginning of the hearing, Skobov filed a motion to recuse Judge Aleksandr Khludnev and the entire military court. The lawyer Vladislav Kosnyrev justified the motion with the words of his client: “You are appointed by President Putin. You cannot be free to carry out justice in this case.”
When asked by the judge to justify his motion, Skobov said: “I do not recognize or respect your court! This is a court of Nazi scum! You are servants of the Nazi dictatorship of a gang of murderers and scum headed by Putin! Death to Putin! Death to the Russian-fascist invaders! Glory to Ukraine!”.
“Thank you, exhaustive,” judge Khludnev replied and rejected the motion to recuse himself.
The prosecutor said that once at large, Skobov would continue to engage in “criminal activity” and asked for a six-month extension of the preventive measure.
“Wherever I am, I will continue to call on honest Russians to join the AFU! I will continue to call for strikes deep into Russian territory!” – continued the political prisoner.
The defense asked the court to take into account the state of health of 68-year-old Skobov and the fact that he has an elderly and sick mother in his care. The lawyers also said that Skobov was not going to hide from the investigation.
The court found that under house arrest, the defendant could hide from the investigation, continue to engage in “criminal activity” and could put pressure on witnesses or collude with them. Judge Khludnev extended the preventive measure for Aleksandr Skobov for 6 months, until May 20, 2025.
Journalist, human rights activist and former Soviet dissident Aleksandr Skobov, 68, has been in pre-trial detention since April 2024 on charges of “justifying terrorism” because of his posts about the attack on the Crimean Bridge. On September 29, he was charged with two more articles: justification of terrorism and participation in the activities of a “terrorist community” – the Free Russia Forum.
