An unforgettable tune: The three witnesses against ‘extremist singer’ Yuri Khovansky used identical language in their testimonies, and two of them appear to be former police officers

Video blogger Yuri Khovansky has been locked up since June, awaiting trial on charges of "justifying terrorism." For months, he's claimed in letters released to the public through his lawyers that the police are trying to frame him for performing a banned song about the deadly 2002 Nord-Ost siege. The case against him, Khovansky says, relies on false testimony from a handful of witnesses who claim he played the song in 2018. He says he performed the piece (which he now renounces) only once, in November 2012, which should exonerate him under the statute of limitations. Journalists at the news outlet RBC obtained copies of the case evidence against Khovansky and found that significant portions of the prosecution's witness testimony repeat identical phrases and even whole paragraphs of text. Two of the three witnesses also appear to be former police officers. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/12/13/an-unforgettable-tune