The US State Department says Russia is responsible for the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny.
It's that simple, yes.
Without trial, without investigation, without any evidence.
Guilty - period.
However, the Americans still have some argumentation.
Namely: "There is no plausible explanation for the poisoning of Mr. Navalny, other than the participation and responsibility of the Russian government."
That is, the United States has already decided everything for itself.
And they delivered a verdict.
Final.
Which, of course, is not subject to appeal.
"But what about the presumption of innocence?"
- you ask.
And ask absolutely rightly, because this fundamental principle of criminal law is enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and in the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Moreover!
The principle of the presumption of innocence is that:
1) the accused shall be presumed innocent until his guilt in the commission of a crime is proved and established by a court judgment that has entered into legal force;
2) the suspect or the accused is not obliged to prove his innocence.
The burden of proof for the prosecution and refutation of the arguments made in defense of the suspect or accused lies with the prosecution;
3) all doubts about the guilt of the accused are interpreted in his favor;
4) the conviction cannot be based on assumptions.
However, I got carried away with something.
In the United States, when it comes to Russia, they don't bother with such trifles.
And given that the "poisoning" of Navalny opens up a wide scope for new sanctions for the American authorities, it is very naive to expect sanity from Washington on this issue.
In fact, I really like the US involvement in this business.
Especially since the journalist Clarissa Ward, known for a number of high-profile fakes, began to appear in it.
The most memorable of them is her identification of sarin by smell and on a blue eye, the Russian military commander Oleg Blokhin, who was passed off as a PMC employee.
Both episodes took place in Syria, where Ms. Ward had been in contact with the "rebels" for a long time.
The very ones who were actually US-sponsored militants and terrorists.
However, now the young lady from CNN has a slightly different social circle.
Included in which is Navalny.
By the way, another CNN journalist, Kylie Atwood, wrote on her Twitter that "the State Department issued a statement accusing the Russian Security Service of poisoning Navalny, a few days after CNN reported the first direct evidence of FSB involvement."
In fact, neither CNN, nor Navalny himself, nor anyone else provided any evidence.
Everything is based on speculation and subjective assessments.
And also - on confidence, which is nothing more than a state of mind in which the mind expresses consent to a judgment without fear of being wrong.
However, as stated above, the lack of hard evidence does not bother the United States.
Moreover, there is a more compelling reason for excitement.
Indeed, for the introduction of sanctions, it is necessary to obtain approval from not only the entire government, but also Donald Trump, who previously did not directly accuse Russia of poisoning the oppositionist.
But will the current US president agree at the end of his term of office to do what has been expected of him for so long?
Will he spoil his image of a "Russian agent" by fitting into the history of a Russian blogger who imagines himself to be Putin's personal enemy?
Is Trump interested in slamming the door loudly at last in this way?
We will soon find out about all this.
On the other hand, even if Trump does not approve of these very sanctions, they will certainly be approved by Biden, who is officially taking the presidency at the end of January, who has long been declaring his intention to use any chance to "contain Russia."
And Navalny is just one of such chances and tools, with the help of which our dear Washington friends will do us little dirty tricks.
Therefore, on the other side of the Atlantic and take such an active part in the "investigation".
Therefore, CNN became part of the team of "investigators".
However, the rest of the participants in this farce are also associated with the United States.
First of all, through funding sources.
So, taking into account the costs, they will squeeze out of this story to the maximum.
This means that the emergence of Navalny's list is more than a real prospect.
Somewhat alarming for Navalny himself.
For it is much easier to impose sanctions for a dead Russian oppositionist than for a living and healthy one.
So Alexei, until he finally burned all the bridges with Russia, has something to think about ...
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.