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CHARGES DROPPED IN REZNIK FIGHT CASE

The Dzerzhinsky Federal Court on Wednesday ended a criminal case against Maxim Reznik, head of the local branch of the democratic party Yabloko, dropping the charges and releasing him, after the three police officers that had filed suits against the politician earlier this year withdrew their evidence from the case.

Maxim Reznik had been charged with insulting and physically assaulting a state representative, a crime that carries a term of up to five years in prison.

Speaking at the courtroom on Wednesday, the policemen confirmed that the fight took place but said they no longer wish to sue Reznik and will be happy to drop the charges. The plaintiffs refused to comment on their decisions, and simply said the incident had been resolved.

The case had been surrounded by murky circumstances.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on March 3, Reznik was leaving Yabloko headquarters in central St. Petersburg when, according to accounts given to reporters by him and his lawyer, he saw a street fight a few meters away. He intervened to try to stop the fight. Within a minute, Reznik claimed, a police van arrived at speed, and officers seized him. Mysteriously, the men who had been fighting managed to escape and their identities were never established.

Reznik remains convinced the case was linked to his oppositional political activities. The politician feels the incident was a deliberate attack on him with an eye to preventing him from taking part in the Dissenters’ March later that day and the New Agenda for Democratic Movement meeting on April 6.

The incident was widely seen as having been politically motivated.

“How likely is it that this bespectacled 33-year-old, whose only sport is chess, managed to assault three police officers ...

MEDVEDEV AND PUTIN CALL UP THE NETWORKS

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Yevroset Investigated In 2 Criminal Investigations

MOSCOW — Yevroset faced twin criminal investigations this week, in what an industry source and analysts said appeared to be an attempt to undermine the possible sale of a stake in the country’s largest mobile phone retailer.

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it was investigating whether ...