In the computer of the head of the Karelian "Memorial" Yuri Dmitriev, they found porn films, which is why the historian's case was returned to the court for a new trial. Witnesses also reported that they saw Dmitriev watching the video "18+"
“There are testimonies of witnesses that confirm: not only were the films on the computer, Dmitriev also watched these films, and the testimony in court was voiced. It was this that became the basis for the court to return the case on the production of pornographic photographs with the participation of a minor back to the city court.», - said Saraev.
The Children's Ombudsman noted that the fact of Dmitriev's viewing of pornographic films can be considered as a motive for committing a crime under Article 242.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the use of a minor for the purpose of producing pornographic materials or objects).
“If earlier the motive was not clear, and those pictures of a naked child, which were in the computer and on which the child's genitals were also visible, were considered and presented by the defense side as a health diary, today, since these photos were next to pornographic materials, there is a motive that the judge will now consider», - said the Ombudsman.
On July 22, the city court of Petrozavodsk sentenced Yuri Dmitriev to 3.5 years in prison on the case of sexual abuse of his adopted daughter, making child porn and possession of weapons. At the same time, as the lawyer said, he may be released by the end of 2020, since he has already served in the pre-trial detention center for 2 years and 2.5 months.
In 2016, Dmitriev was detained on suspicion of producing child pornography with the participation of a minor adopted daughter. According to the investigation, from 2008 to 2015, when the child was from 3 to 10 years old, Dmitriev periodically photographed the girl naked. The lawyer explained these pictures by the need to monitor her health. In 2018, the Petrozavodsk City Court acquitted the historian, since the examination did not recognize the photographs as pornographic.
In June 2018, the Supreme Court of Karelia overturned the acquittal and sent the case for a new trial. On June 27, 2018, Dmitriev was detained on suspicion of sexual abuse of his adopted daughter and was arrested the next day. Dmitriev was accused of raping her during the period when his adopted daughter was between 7 and 11 years old. Dmitriev himself considers his criminal case to be a prosecution for the investigation of Sandarmokh - the site of mass Soviet executions in the vicinity of the city of Medvezhyegorsk.
Yuri Dmitriev is known as the publisher of books in memory of the victims of political repression of the 1930-1940s. He is engaged in researching the camp cemeteries of the Gulag prisoners in Karelia, and also organized a number of expeditions to Krasny Bor and Sandarmokh to search for places of mass graves of victims of the era of Stalinist repressions and political persecution.
