"Planting evidence and arresting a person on that basis makes a mockery of the rule of law", said Linda Besharaty-Movaed, ICJ/CIJL Legal Advisor. "Mr. Trepashkin's unlawful detention demonstrates that Russian lawyers can be arrested for discharging their professional duties".

Mr. Trepashkin was arrested on charges of "possession and transportation of an unlicensed firearm" after police officers openly threw a bag that contained a gun into his car.

In 2002, Mr. Trepashkin worked as a consultant for a commission that investigated the 1999 bombings, which had been exclusively blamed on Chechen insurgents, and found that the Security Service had been complicit in the bombings.

Immediately after he presented his findings, the Military Prosecutor initiated proceedings against Mr. Trepashkin for "disclosing classified information". Even though he was indicted, his case laid dormant until September 2003, when a book reproduced some of his findings. Mr. Trepashkin then won an indefinite postponement of the case from the Supreme Court.

For further information, please contact José Zeitune, Lawyer, at +41 22 979 3812.

Please follow this link to the intervention.