David Dzhangidze, also known as the thief in law Dato Krasnodarsky, was sentenced to eight years in prison, as well as a fine of 1 million rubles under the article "Taking a high position in a criminal community."

As the lawyer of Dzhangidze, Alexander Makarov, told RT, the case was considered behind closed doors for more than a year.

“Now the judge has read out only the introductory and operative part of the verdict, and he will write down the reasoning in the verdict and hand it over to David in the coming days,” says the defender.

“David does not yet know if he will appeal the verdict.

Until he realizes what happened.

After additional consultation with my client, a decision will be made to appeal, ”adds Makarov.

The article, according to which Jangidze was convicted, provides for a punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 8 to 15 years.

According to an RT source familiar with the case, the prosecution initially asked for a sentence of 11 years in prison for Dzhangidze.

“David was sentenced to a minimum punishment, and in case of an appeal, he could be toughened,” explains Alexander Makarov.

His client, he continues, took the verdict calmly: "He is generally a reserved person."

If the verdict enters into force unchanged, the issue of the place of serving the sentence will be decided in the near future.

“I think, in our case, not even the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service, but the central apparatus will decide which colony it will be transferred to,” adds Makarov.

From robber to thief in law


As established by the investigation and the court, 37-year-old Dzhangidze occupied the highest position in the criminal hierarchy since June 2013, when he was “crowned” at a thieves' meeting in Rome and was appointed “overseer” of the Krasnodar Territory.

According to media reports, he became the youngest thief in law.

“As a result of a procedure based on criminal traditions (the so-called“ thieves' approach ”), D. Dzhangidze was recognized as a person occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy - a thief in law, a zone of criminal influence within the territory of Krasnodar edge ", - says about these events in the resolution on the involvement of Dzhangidze as an accused (available at the disposal of RT).

In the seven years that followed Dzhangidze's seven years since his "coronation", "in order to occupy a leading position in the criminal environment, increase his criminal authority, benefit for himself and others," as the decree says, "occupies the highest position in the criminal hierarchy and manages the criminal environment in the territory under his control, organizes the collection of funds and replenishes them with a common material base (thieves' common fund), patronizes persons intending to commit or have committed a crime. "

The authority also “resolved disputes between representatives of the criminal community, created favorable conditions for persons held in places of confinement, took part in thieves' gatherings, and appointed“ supervisors ”.

Dzhangidze's criminal path began when he was only 18 years old.

In March 2002, he committed a robbery by prior conspiracy as part of a group of persons on a large scale, and was sentenced to three years probation.

  • © RT

“Since the commission of the indicated crime, Dzhangidze D.B.

actively maintains contacts with persons adhering to criminal traditions, from whom he took over knowledge about positions in the criminal hierarchy.

Having chosen criminal activity as the main one, he began to strive to occupy the highest position in it - the so-called.

“A thief in law,” says the decree on bringing Dzhangidze to justice.

In 2014, Dato Krasnodarsky was detained on charges of extortion committed in the Republic of Adygea.

He was placed in a pre-trial detention center, but was released three months later for lack of evidence.

Dzhangidze twice, in 2015 and 2017, received 15 days of administrative arrest for disobeying a lawful order of a police officer (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation).

In 2018, the authority went to jail again - a spice was found on him.

A criminal case was opened against Dzhangidze under Part 2 of Art.

228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court sentenced him to three years in prison.

Taking into account the time spent in the pre-trial detention center, Dato Krasnodarsky was released at the end of 2018. 

Also, according to an RT source familiar with Dzhangidze, they had previously tried to prosecute him for organizing a criminal community or participating in it, but the case was dropped for lack of corpus delicti.

“However, it was, according to him, back in the 2010s,” says the interlocutor of RT.

"I was sure that they would acquit"

According to lawyer Sergei Melikov, who previously represented Dzhangidze's interests during the investigation, his former client hoped to the last that he would avoid new prosecution.

“But like any adequate person, he understood the severity of the charge.

However, at first he did not take the accusation seriously.

He was sure that he would be acquitted, ”says the lawyer.

Former defender Dzhangidze disagrees with the decision.

“The prosecution did not prove in court that a person is endowed with the highest position in the criminal hierarchy for life, since many are aware of examples of depriving the authorities of this status in the criminal environment,” believes Sergei Melikov.

“According to data previously published in the media, back in 2017, David was deprived of his status in the criminal environment, that is, two years before the initiation of the case and, in principle, before the appearance in 2019 of liability under Art.

210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, - adds the lawyer.

- In this regard, the charge brought against David contradicts the principle of criminal proceedings enshrined in Art.

10 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the law has no retroactive effect, and David's actions cannot be interpreted as criminal. "

The media did report that Dzhangidze was “uncrowned” because of a conflict with another crime boss, Merab Sukhumsky.

At the time of his arrest in the new case, says Sergei Melikov, Dzhangidze was under administrative supervision after his last term served in places of imprisonment, under Art.

228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

“He was regularly checked by police officers, he was at home with his wife and children, he went out only when needed.

According to the previous sentences, David served all the punishment imposed on him in full and did not go anywhere, ”says the lawyer.

According to the lawyer, after his release from the colony, where Dzhangidze was imprisoned for possession of drugs, he lived quite modestly.

“We have all seen in the media the dwellings of people holding certain statuses in criminal circles.

And he lived in a rented apartment with his wife and children.

Now, when he was imprisoned, his wife lives with his mother in a small apartment on the outskirts of Krasnodar in a far from the most prestigious area, "says Sergei Melikov. 

"Among the first ten"

According to Sergei Melikov, under the criteria of "occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy" "you can bring anyone down."

The lawyer raises questions about the fact that some of the witnesses in the case were classified without the application of state protection measures to them, and the process itself was held behind closed doors. 

However, Honored Lawyer of Russia, retired federal judge Sergei Pashin explains why such processes can be held behind closed doors.

“This is due to the need to protect agents and means of obtaining confidential information.

The methods of work of law enforcement agencies, their technical equipment are covered with a veil of state secrets, and this means that the case itself can be classified initially.

And not as a judge, but at the early stages of the investigation, ”says the expert.

“The practice under this article is still small, within 10 verdicts in the country.

But of these there is also an exculpatory one.

Earlier, the Lipetsk Regional Court issued an acquittal under Art.

210.1, there are no results while he appeals.

Therefore, judicial practice is still developing ambiguously.

What are the prospects for our case, I don’t know yet, ”said Dzhangidze’s lawyer Alexander Makarov.

Article 210.1, under which Jangidze was convicted, appeared in the Criminal Code recently, in April 2019.

Last year, 45 people were brought to justice for it.

Its adoption, experts explain, was no coincidence.

“This article should have been introduced a long time ago.

In the 1990s, she would have helped us a lot, but, unfortunately, we did not have such an article, and we had to

imprison

them (crime bosses -

RT

) on the other, ”says Mikhail Ignatov, a criminalist, a former operative of the RUOP Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow.

Speaking about the Dzhangidze case, Ignatov explains that Dato Krasnodarsky was not brought to justice for six years, precisely by the existing legislative gap.

“He, like many others, could not be detained, because there were no serious grounds for detention, there was no article.

And when she appeared, Dato was detained, he was among the first ten who were brought to justice under this article.

It was difficult to prove his participation in thefts, in some kind of robberies or robberies, kidnapping, he personally does not do anything.

This was the problem of bringing thieves in law to justice, ”the expert says.

The only thing, continues Ignatov, with which it was easier to bring criminal authorities to justice - the possession and transportation of drugs: "Because 90% of thieves in law are on drugs."

Now, Ignatov is convinced, it will be easier to prosecute the leaders of the underworld for their direct actions: “There are levers, mechanisms that are now being tested in courts, there will be judicial practice. It will, of course, be much easier for operatives. But the authorities will also adjust (under the new article -

RT

), and they will resist all this, give up their status, they will say on the courts that they are ordinary, ordinary citizens and have not done anything bad to anyone, this is all the evil law enforcement officers assigned to them these titles. "

The lawyer of the Moscow collegium of advocates, retired police colonel Yevgeny Chernousov also positively assesses the appearance of a new article in the Criminal Code. “It was introduced to nullify organized crime, which, unfortunately, is still headed by thieves in law, and criminal authorities, their henchmen in every colony, and so on. Previously, it was not introduced, because law enforcement officers received information from thieves in law. But then we weighed everything and decided that we had to finish with them, ”he says.

“When a crime is being prepared, committed or is being committed, a case of operational accounting is started. And now, when this article has been introduced, according to which the leadership of the hierarchy is already a crime in itself, you can start a case of operational accounting without a criminal case: wiretap, collect and document everything related to outdoor surveillance, removing information from technical means, and accumulate in volumes of these cases. Previously, there were difficulties, because there was no article: he seems to be in charge, but this is not a crime, ”the expert explains.