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Yury Titovich Shutov (russian: Юрий Титович Шутов, – December 12, 2014) was a Russian politician who is known for collecting incriminating evidence against
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
administration, including former Mayor
Anatoly Sobchak Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
and his aide at this time
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. Shutov was convicted to life in prison on criminal charges that have been allegedly fabricated to punish him for making public accusations of Putin.
Yuri Felshtinsky Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (russian: Юрий Георгиевич Фельштинский, born 7 September 1956 in Moscow) is a Russian American historian. Felshtinsky has authored a number of books on Russian history, including ''The Bol ...
and
Vladimir Pribylovsky Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
''The Age of Assassins. The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin'', Gibson Square Books, London, 2008, , pages 273-277.


Conflict with city administration

In November 1990 he was an aide to
Anatoly Sobchak Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
, Mayor of
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. After being fired, he began collection of evidence about the financial misdeeds by the city administration. He also got a tape with a casual conversation of Sobchak with a French intelligence officer. Putin, who was an aide to Sobchak at this time, decided to intervene. An anti-organized crime unit illegally raided Shutov's apartment and took the tape. When Shutov discovered the "robbers" in his apartment, they broke his skull with a hammer.


Arrest

On March 31, 1992, Shutov was arrested on fabricated charges of preparing an assassination of Azerbaijan's president
Abulfaz Elchibey Abulfaz Elchibey ( az, Əbülfəz Elçibəy; 24 June 1938, in Nakhchivan – 22 August 2000, in Ankara) was an Azerbaijani political figure and a former Soviet dissident. His real name was Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: ''Əbülf ...
. He was released only in 1993 and found not guilty by a court in 1996.


Accusing Putin after election to city parliament

On December 20, 1998 Shutov was elected deputy of the
Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (russian: Законода́тельное собра́ние Санкт-Петербу́рга, ЗакС) is the regional parliament of Saint Petersburg, a federal subject (federal city) of Russia ...
. He alleged in an article that Putin got hold of a file with compromising
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
materials on Sobchak, at the time when Putin worked as the KGB's overseer of
Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. Putin used this materials to
blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
Sobchak and secure his own appointment in the city administration, according to Shutov.


Abduction from the court room

On February 16, 1999, Shutov was stripped of parliamentary immunity and arrested on charges of murdering prominent Russian politicians
Mikhail Manevich Mikhail Manevich (russian: Михаил Владиславович Маневич, February 18, 1961 in Leningrad, Soviet Union – August 18, 1997 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian economist and official of the Saint Petersburg City A ...
and
Galina Starovoitova Galina Vasilyevna Starovoitova (russian: Гали́на Васи́льевна Старово́йтова; 17 May 1946, in Chelyabinsk – 20 November 1998, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet dissident, Russian politician and ethnographer known ...
. Court found these charges to be unproven and politically motivated, and he was freed directly in the courtroom on November 16. Several minutes later, masked
OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо ...
soldiers who arrived from Moscow, burst to the court room, took Shutov to an office in the same building, and severely beat him. He lost an eye and half of his hearing as a result.


Conviction

Although the
Russian Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in R ...
ruled that detention of Shutov was illegal and he was reelected to the
Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg (russian: Законода́тельное собра́ние Санкт-Петербу́рга, ЗакС) is the regional parliament of Saint Petersburg, a federal subject (federal city) of Russia ...
(a city parliament) in 2002, he was shuttled during 7 years between different prisons, and finally sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
on February 16, 2006, for organizing murders of businessmen (the charges of murdering Starovoitova were dropped).


Detention

On January 19, 2007, a medical commission ordered by the prison authorities concluded that the applicant's condition was of medium gravity and did not warrant his release from prison. However, on March 15, 2007 an independent medical commission studied the applicant's medical file and concluded that the State experts had not conducted an adequate medical examination Shutov served his sentence in White Swan maximal security prison in the Perm Region where he was not provided with a wheelchair and had to move around by crawling. He died in prison on December 12, 2014.


Complaints to ECHR

On September 14, 2010, an application No. 20922/08 (Shutov v. Russia) has been communicated to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
(ECHR). He complained of lack of adequate medical care throughout his detention and lack of a wheelchair in prison. Also Mr. Shutov alleged that sentencing him to lifetime imprisonment while he was not present in the courtroom amounts to inhuman treatment. He complains of "unlawful composition of the court in view of the lack of the lay judges' credentials and lack of grounds for their participation in the proceedings after abolition of the institution of lay judges in Russia; of lack of public hearing in view of the court proceedings in a remand prison". Mr. Shutov draws attention upon "unfair trial on account of their removal from the courtroom for the entire duration or part of the proceedings". He alleges that his absence from the courtroom was not remedied by the presence of his legal counsel as the court ignored or dismissed his requests, "pressured the counsel by applying for withdrawal of their license, stripped them of all electronic devices crucial for their work and effectively eliminated the possibility to consult with their clients by holding almost daily hearings". He complains under the same provision that the "trial court was biased, ignored his requests, and that the appeal court failed to duly consider his appeals".ECHR Shutov vs.Russia Applications 18579/07, 21748/07, 21954/07 and 20922/08
(Doc)
Mr. Shutov complaints that "following his removal from the courtroom he was not aware of the charges against him, could not prepare his defence and could not examine the witnesses"; that "he could not defend himself in person because he was not present either at the trial or at the appeal hearing and that the court did not allow him to retain different legal counsels following termination of his contract with the previous ones". He also complains under Article 18 of ECHR that the real reason for his arrest was political persecution.


References


External links


A personal website of Yuri Shutov
(in Russian)

by
Vladimir Pribylovsky Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
(in Russian)
List of Compliances to the European Court of Human Rights Communicated by Russia in September, 2010
(in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shutov, Yury 1946 births 2014 deaths Russian politicians Russian people who died in prison custody Russian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Inmates of White Swan Prison Burials at Serafimovskoe Cemetery Members of Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg