25 May 2004 10:34
RUSSIA: DEPUTY PROSECUTOR-GENERAL PROPOSES LIMITING PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE
Addressing the Duma on 21 May, Deputy Prosecutor-General Sabir Kekhlerov proposed restricting the immunity from
criminal prosecution of parliamentarians, high-ranking officials, and judges in cases linked to corruption, newsru.com,
gazeta.ru, and polit.ru reported. He suggested that the presumption of innocence of these officials will be partly
restricted, and that they take upon themselves the burden of proving the legal origin of their property and other
assets. At the same meeting, Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov backed Kekhlerov, saying that "there
shouldn't be criminal immunity for deputies," newsru.com reported. But the chairman of Russia's Council
of Judges, Yurii Sidorenko, said that restriction of the presumption of innocence is not supported by the judicial
community, polit.ru reported on 22 May. Prosecutors should simply work better, he added, Finally, Duma Deputy Speaker
and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii said that the proposal would paralyze political
life. There is corruption among parliamentarians just as there is among doctors, but nobody has therefore proposed
depriving them of their professional status, he said. VY Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission
of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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