A Moscow judge said Thursday that he has been stripped of his duties for refusing to toe the official line and convict more defendants.
The Moscow Qualification Board of Judges officially dismissed Judge Alexander Melikov from the Dorogomilovsky District Court over 22 cases he tried and accusations by his superior, Moscow City Court Chief Judge Olga Yegorova, that he had handed down a "series of strangely soft sentences and other judicial decisions" and "undermined public trust in the judicial system," according to media reports.
Melikov, however, said the city court was seeking more convictions and decided to punish him because he had thrown out some cases and refused to sanction prosecutors' arrest warrants several times.
"They're under the impression that if someone is suspected of committing a crime, he must automatically be guilty," Melikov said. "What good is to have me, as a judge, simply acting as a second prosecutor? Statistically, it can't be that everyone accused of a crime is guilty. If that's the case, then why do we even have a judicial system?"
Melikov said his rulings had been overturned in only four of the 22 cases cited in the complaints against him. Three of those were acquittals. "Out of 460 cases that I've tried [since 2001], only four have been overturned," Melikov added. "My work compares favorably to other judges."
Despite the official reason for his dismissal, Melikov said he actually lost his job through a technicality. Last summer, Moscow's inter-municipal courts were renamed "district courts," and in the process judges were required to submit paperwork to be reappointed. When the new list of judges was compiled for the signature of President Vladimir Putin, who by law appoints judges, 13 of the former inter-municipal judges, including Melikov, were left out. Melikov said the missing judges were called into the Moscow City Court and told to retire voluntarily or be fired. "They told me they'd find a reason to fire me, but I decided to fight until the end," Melikov said, adding that he is prepared to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.
Of the 13 judges, 10 retired voluntarily, while Melikov and two others decided to leave their fate in the hands of the qualification college, he said.
Calls to the judges board went unanswered Thursday, and an employee who answered the phone at the Moscow City Court said Yegorova was unavailable for comment.
Yegorova has been accused of pressuring judges before. Former Moscow City Court Judge Olga Kudeshkina, who had said she lost her job last year for refusing to toe the official line, told Gazeta in Thursday's issue that when a district court issues an acquittal, Yegorova calls the district prosecutor's office and orders them to appeal the decision, which is then reviewed by the Moscow City Court.
She said Yegorova keeps a tight leash on judges who acquit suspects because an acquittal offers the defendant a chance to sue the authorities for pressing unfounded charges.
Moscow district courts acquitted 0.3 percent of all defendants from January through September this year, with 33,919 convictions and 102 acquittals, Gazeta reported. The Moscow City Court acquitted about 6 percent, with 291 convictions and 17 acquittals. In comparison, U.S. courts acquitted about 17 percent of defendants throughout the 1990s, with the acquittal rate reaching 30 percent in big cities.
The Moscow Qualification Board of Judges officially dismissed Judge Alexander Melikov from the Dorogomilovsky District Court over 22 cases he tried and accusations by his superior, Moscow City Court Chief Judge Olga Yegorova, that he had handed down a "series of strangely soft sentences and other judicial decisions" and "undermined public trust in the judicial system," according to media reports.
Melikov, however, said the city court was seeking more convictions and decided to punish him because he had thrown out some cases and refused to sanction prosecutors' arrest warrants several times.
"They're under the impression that if someone is suspected of committing a crime, he must automatically be guilty," Melikov said. "What good is to have me, as a judge, simply acting as a second prosecutor? Statistically, it can't be that everyone accused of a crime is guilty. If that's the case, then why do we even have a judicial system?"
Melikov said his rulings had been overturned in only four of the 22 cases cited in the complaints against him. Three of those were acquittals. "Out of 460 cases that I've tried [since 2001], only four have been overturned," Melikov added. "My work compares favorably to other judges."
Despite the official reason for his dismissal, Melikov said he actually lost his job through a technicality. Last summer, Moscow's inter-municipal courts were renamed "district courts," and in the process judges were required to submit paperwork to be reappointed. When the new list of judges was compiled for the signature of President Vladimir Putin, who by law appoints judges, 13 of the former inter-municipal judges, including Melikov, were left out. Melikov said the missing judges were called into the Moscow City Court and told to retire voluntarily or be fired. "They told me they'd find a reason to fire me, but I decided to fight until the end," Melikov said, adding that he is prepared to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.
Of the 13 judges, 10 retired voluntarily, while Melikov and two others decided to leave their fate in the hands of the qualification college, he said.
Calls to the judges board went unanswered Thursday, and an employee who answered the phone at the Moscow City Court said Yegorova was unavailable for comment.
Yegorova has been accused of pressuring judges before. Former Moscow City Court Judge Olga Kudeshkina, who had said she lost her job last year for refusing to toe the official line, told Gazeta in Thursday's issue that when a district court issues an acquittal, Yegorova calls the district prosecutor's office and orders them to appeal the decision, which is then reviewed by the Moscow City Court.
She said Yegorova keeps a tight leash on judges who acquit suspects because an acquittal offers the defendant a chance to sue the authorities for pressing unfounded charges.
Moscow district courts acquitted 0.3 percent of all defendants from January through September this year, with 33,919 convictions and 102 acquittals, Gazeta reported. The Moscow City Court acquitted about 6 percent, with 291 convictions and 17 acquittals. In comparison, U.S. courts acquitted about 17 percent of defendants throughout the 1990s, with the acquittal rate reaching 30 percent in big cities.