GProsecutor General Igor Krasnov, speaking to deputies, not only described the actions of Valery Rashkin on illegal hunting, but also expressed a personal attitude to his actions, advising him to behave “like a man”
Valery Rashkin
The State Duma is holding hearings on the deprivation of immunity of the Communist Party deputy Valery Rashkin for illegal moose hunting. Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov addressed the deputies of the lower house. He called Rashkin’s attempts to avoid responsibility “clumsy”.
“I will not dwell in detail on the circumstances of Rashkin’s detention and his clumsy attempts to mislead law enforcement officers, and not only them. <...Thanks to the media, this, without exaggeration, shame has become well-known. Moreover, today Rashkin has already publicly acknowledged his involvement in the incriminated act twice. Although he did not give up hope of avoiding responsibility," Krasnov said.
“I have an extremely negative attitude to such manifestations of insincerity: a man who has taken up arms should continue to behave like a man, and not try to cause pity,” the prosecutor General continued.
He asked the State Duma to give consent to the initiation of criminal and administrative cases against Rashkin, as well as to searches and the election of a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions.
“A lie from the mouth of an official of this level undermines the authority of public authority, therefore it is unacceptable,” Krasnov told the deputies. He also expressed a personal attitude to Rashkin’s act: “A man who has taken up arms should continue to behave like a man. To take responsibility for all the consequences of their actions, not to try to mislead the public, to cause pity by exposing themselves as a victim of circumstances.
On the eve of the State Duma Commission on mandate issues recommended removing immunity from Rashkin.
The police detained Valery Rashkin with an elk carcass in the trunk of a car in the Lysogorsky district of the Saratov region on October 29. As reported in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an axe and two knives were also found in the car in blood, and a gun with a night vision sight, cartridges, a tripod and a hunting ticket were found at the place of butchering the carcass. Since then, Rashkin has been a suspect in the case of illegal hunting, which is being investigated by the central office of the Investigative Committee.
The deputy said that he found the carcass in the forest and was going to take it to the police. He also stated that the investigation “turns everything upside down”.
Later, on November 18, Rashkin changed his version of what happened. He admitted that in conditions of poor visibility he confused an elk with a wild boar and shot the animal twice with a carbine, after which he butchered the carcass and put it in the car with the help of a friend. Rashkin also stated that he was ready to buy a live moose in return and release it in the hunting area.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said that it would ask the State Duma to agree to conduct investigative actions with Rashkin and to achieve the election of a preventive measure against the parliamentarian related to the prohibition of certain actions.
According to the representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Sergei Bochkarev, Rashkin “did not cooperate with the investigation, gave false and confusing testimony to law enforcement agencies, misled the public, did not give samples at the crime scene for comparative research and, moreover, concealed the weapon of the crime.” In addition, according to the representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the deputy knows the witnesses well and has the opportunity to influence them.
According to Bochkarev, the damage from Rashkin’s actions amounted to 80 thousand rubles. The representative of the department pointed out that the deputy did not apply to the regional authorities for permission, in addition, a quota for hunting could not be issued in this farm in the Saratov region due to the difficult situation of the animal world.
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