Russian ‘sleeping judge’ resigns after video exposé

MOSCOW: A Russian judge has resigned after a video apparently showed him asleep during a trial that ended with him sentencing the defendant to five years in a penal colony. Critics of the Russian justice system, which has a not-oriously high conviction rate, were outraged when the video purporting to show Judge Yevgeny Makhno
sleeping through a defence lawyer’s speech in court was posted online in January.
The film, allegedly shot during a fraud trial last July in the far-eastern town of Blagoveshchensk, shows Makhno slumped in his chair fast asleep with his head cocked to one side.
The businessman sentenced to five years hard labour will have a new trial on February 14 after an appeal was lodged over the ‘unjust’ sentence, Russian media said. Russia’s justice system has been in the spotlight recently over several high-profile court 
cases, including trial of punk protest collective Pussy Riot. Makhno will eventually be able to return to his post if he retakes his exams, the media said. — Reuters