Ex-Sverdlovsk deputy governor addresses the court
Oleg Chemezov said his family faced pressure from Telegram channels and cited health concerns.
Former Sverdlovsk Region deputy governor Oleg Chemezov spoke at the Verkh-Isetsky District Court, where he was brought for a pretrial custody hearing.
According to the official, he disagrees with the fraud charge. He also asked not to be placed under arrest. His statement follows in full:
«My family has spent a year under immense information pressure from quasi-anonymous Telegram channels aimed at discrediting us. When we looked into why this is happening, it became obvious that the people who order all this feel a wild aversion to my lifestyle — to the point of pain in their faces — to convulsions. We are quite a patriotic family; we are raising children. My wife provided humanitarian aid to fighters in the ‘special military operation’ and in Donbas. I was involved in that as well.
The defendant appeared subdued in court, speaking quietly while requesting release without pretrial detention.
We sincerely value what we do. We are open. And on the scales today is the entire case. On one side — the testimony of an official caught taking a bribe and some of his oral statements. And on the other side — the fate of my family. It embodies all the ideals the president associates with a large family with many children. And I would like to say about myself that I am standing before you; I have not gone anywhere and I have not fled. I stand open, not hiding my face», — Oleg Chemezov concluded.
It should be noted that the investigators and the prosecutor’s office asked the court to remand the official in custody. All the details read in our live updates.
