Blogger Alexander Valov needs medical assistance in court

Today, Alexander Valov, the editor-in-chief of the website "BlogSochi", has been taken to a court hearing on his case with a neck wound. He has claimed worsening of his health state and after that an ambulance was called to the court building, reported defenders of the blogger.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Alexander Valov, the editor-in-chief of the website "BlogSochi", was suspected of extorting money from Yuri Napso, a member of the State Duma from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). Alexander Valov claims that 300,000 roubles were transferred to him for advertising services. He has associated his prosecution with his activities on the website "BlogSochi" and "an attempt to close the website."

Alexander Valov has been brought to the today's court session with a bandaged neck, the "Caucasian Knot" has been informed by Evgeny Vitishko, a public defender of Alexander Valov.

"He had dried blood on his hands, and he had blood under his nails too. It was clear that he was in poor physical and mental condition. He didn't answer anything to the questions asked by us with [advocate Alexander] Popkov about what had happened. He had just reported to the court that he felt bad and asked to stop the trial. But the judge refused to stop the court hearing," said Evgeny Vitishko.

According to him, warders explained to the court the delay by the fact that in the morning, Alexander Valov had injured his neck and had been taken to the Lazarevskoe hospital, where he had been provided with medical assistance. The judge refused to postpone the hearing and requested a certificate from the hospital, noted the defender.

Advocate Alexander Popkov has added that Alexander Valov felt "very bad" at trial and an ambulance was called for him.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 8, 2018 at 02:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.