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Russian Actor Sentenced to 3-Plus Years for Injuring Policeman

Charles Maynes

   MOSCOW - A Moscow court sentenced Russian actor Pavel Ustinov to
   three-and-a-half years in prison Monday for injuring a Russian National
   Guardsman during a peaceful protest held earlier this year. The
   sentence was the latest in a series of fast-track punishments widely
   viewed as a government effort to intimidate growing unrest in the
   capital amid a charged election season.

   Prosecutors say Ustinov, 23, dislocated the shoulder of a National
   Guardsman in riot gear in August as Ustinov was being detained by
   police on Moscow's central Pushkin Square, where a group of
   demonstrators gathered to protest the lack of opposition candidates in
   recent city council elections.

   "He had his telephone in his hand and, yes, he was shouting slogans
   offensive to the government," said the guardsman, Sergeant Alexey
   Lyaglin, in testimony to the court, according to the online news source
   Mediazona.

   "I felt that something with my shoulder slipped, when he [Ustinov]
   moved," Lyaglin told the court.

   Ustinov denied the charges. He also denied taking part in the protest,
   maintaining that he was merely on the square waiting for a friend.

   Video evidence appeared to support his defense -- showing the actor on
   his phone and seemingly stunned and falling backward as police
   descended to make the arrest.

   Judge Sergei Krivoruchko -- currently facing U.S. sanctions under the
   Magnitsky Act legislation targeting human rights abusers globally --
   refused to review video evidence and multiple witness statements
   clearing Ustinov of the charges.

   Krivoruchko did, however, appear to soften sentencing amid public
   pressure. Prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence for Ustinov.

   'Insane and unlawful' punishment

   Ustinov's sentencing drew wide condemnation online.

   "Absolutely, insane and unlawful sentence for Pavel Ustinov. 3.5 years
   for absolutely nothing," wrote opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a
   post on Twitter.

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