Court orders release of Maxim Reznik
21 March 2008
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - A St. Petersburg court ordered the release of a Russian opposition leader Friday whose jailing on charges of hitting a police officer prompted protests and allegations that the case was politically motivated.
Criminal charges against Maxim Reznik, leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the liberal Yabloko party, remain in effect and could end up in court as early as May depending on prosecutors' investigation.
St. Petersburg City Court threw out the district court's ruling earlier this month that ordered Reznik, 33, jailed for two months pending trial.
Reznik was arrested on the eve of protests over the March 2 presidential election. He had been a local organizer of the protests, and was active in investigating voter fraud. He was also the chief organizer of an opposition conference being planned next month in St. Petersburg.
Reznik's release came amid pressure from the government's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin and after Yabloko's national leader Grigory Yavlinsky met with President Vladimir Putin last week.
Lukin _ a former Yabloko member _ told reporters Friday that the lower court's decision was excessive since Reznik was no threat to society.
The decision was a small victory for Russia's beleaguered opposition. But coming after Yavlinsky's rare meeting with Putin, it did little to dispel what Kremlin critics say is a court system that acts at the behest of the government.
Source: AP
