Volgograd Legal Chief to Remain in Pretrial Detention

The Moscow City Court rejected the appeal of Darya Kazankova, head of the legal department of the Volgograd mayor«s office, leaving her in pretrial detention.

The decision was announced on January 21. The appeals court upheld the ruling of the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow, which had chosen detention as a preventive measure in a case of abuse of authority resulting in serious consequences.

Information about Kazankova«s detention appeared on December 17 in the Telegram channel »Volgogradskie Slukhi« (Volgograd Rumors). The channel»s authors linked this event to an inspection by the Russian Prosecutor General«s Office.

In the message, it was said: «According to people who know Kazankova well, she never gave the impression of someone prone to adventures or corruption schemes. A strict lawyer, a pedant, whose documents were always in perfect order. That is why the detention came as a surprise even for those who have long been observing the backstage life of the mayor»s office,« the authors report. »According to one version, the case may be related to the ongoing inspection by the Prosecutor General«s Office. Entrepreneurs and other interested parties, in communication with high-ranking employees of the supervisory agency, began actively sharing information—investigations into these facts are in full swing.»

On December 18, the Meshchansky District Court considered the investigation«s petitions for the arrest of Kazankova, as well as the chairman of the Regional Committee for Nature Protection, Alexei Sivokoz, and his former deputy, Irina Panina. The court granted these petitions and classified the case materials.

Sivokoz and Panina also appealed their arrests, but no data has yet been received on the submission of their complaints to the appeals court.