Procession in Moscow to mark Tsar Nicholas II's birthday
Photo: Valery Melnikov
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Royal Family Not beyond Rehabilitation
The Tverskoi Court in Moscow ruled yesterday that it was illegal for the Prosecutor General's Office to refuse to declare Tsar Nicholas II and members of his family, executed by Bolsheviks in 1918, victims of political repression. That process is known as “political rehabilitation” in Russia. The Imperial House of Grand Princess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova, the tsar's grand niece based in Spain, requested the imperial family's rehabilitation in December of last year. The prosecutor had argues that the death of the royals was murder and not a political act with “decisions by juridical or extrajuridical organs.”
The Tverskoi Court declined to hear an appeal of the prosecutor's decision on May 25, 2006, but the Moscow Municipal Court accepted the appeal of the lower court's refusal, requiring that the case be considered anew. Judge Alexey Knyazov ruled yesterday that the prosecutor's arguments were unconvincing and its decision illegal. The full text of the court's decision will be published in five days.
“The decision of the Tverskoi Court has a political character,” commented lawyer Igor Trunov. “Now the prosecutor will be required to reconsider its decision, that is, to rehabilitate the tsar.” He added that the court probably found “indirect signs” that the decision to execute the royal family was made by the authorities. Although it is possible for the Prosecutor General's Office to refuse the request again, Turnov found that unlikely. Alexander Zakatov, head of the chancellery of Russian Imperial House described the court's decision as “interim but important.”
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All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 15, 2006
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