"Knowingly false testimony of a witness, victim, or expert, as well as knowingly incorrect translation in court or during a preliminary investigation, are punishable by...
Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
I remember one of the first criminal cases I reviewed. A drunken sailor, Stepan Koval, mocked his fellow sailors who had been drafted later, and beat two young sailors in the ship's quarters. During the trial, Koval denied all his confessions during the preliminary investigation and claimed that he had not beaten anyone, and that he had incriminated himself during the investigation due to the use of illegal methods. The victims, the sailors (I will not disclose their names due to the passage of time), They also changed their testimony in court and claimed that the defendant had not beaten them, and that they had received their bruises and abrasions by hitting the gangway.
The case was not complicated, and the evidence, in addition to the testimony of the defendant and the victims, was sufficient, so Koval was soon sent to serve his sentence in a disciplinary military unit, and a criminal case was opened against the victims for giving false testimony in court. Interestingly, during their interrogation as defendants, they were surprised to learn that Koval had fully admitted his guilt in a cassation appeal to the Northern Fleet Military Court, stating that he was remorseful and only requested that his sentence be reduced to allow him to complete his service on the ship.
"How can this be," one of the former victims said in court, "when Stepan told us that we wouldn't be harmed and that he would be released, but it turned out differently." Yes, everything turned out differently than they had promised. Koval had to serve out his military service in a disciplinary military unit, and the victims who changed their testimony in court were convicted by the military court of the garrison under Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federatio ...
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