Fresh from the Washington Post:
The judge, Yevgeny Zubov, had ordered the trial closed a day earlier, saying members of the jury had refused to participate if reporters were allowed in the courtroom. But a man who identified himself as one of the jurors stepped forward Thursday and disputed the judge’s explanation.
“None of us demanded in any categorical form that the press must not attend. I can definitely say that,” the juror, Yevgeny Kolesov, said in remarks broadcast on Ekho Moskvy radio station. Kolesov, a roofer, said that a court official had tried several times to persuade the jury to sign a statement requesting a closed trial but that the jurors all refused.
What a brave, brave person.
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One Comment
This doesn’t even make sense. The trial being “closed” and reporters being present are two different things. They’re quoting the judge as saying the jury objected to reporters in the room, not members of the public.And since when does any jury, much less a Russian jury, get to decide whether it will or won’t hear a case? Refusing to do so would be a crime, wouldn’t it?And how are they naming members of a jury while the case is underway? It gets more and more insane as you go along.And then on top of it all, it turns out the judge is simply lying — which makes sense since what he allegedly said was gibberish.As for the juror, maybe he’s brave or maybe he’s simply oblivious of the consquences of his statement. For all we know, he’s never even heard of Politikovskaya and has no idea anybody cares.