Semiel Vedel

He is a technician of the reserve control centre of the Interior Ministry’s headquarters in the capital. He was detained on the night between 16 and 17 March. After a search, Klokov had a bag put over his head and was taken to the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee, where his detention was formalised. The report states that Klokov resisted, so force and special means were used against him. On 18 March, he was taken into custody. Law enforcement officers informed his lawyer Daniil Berman that Klokov refused his services, but later he eventually concluded an agreement with the lawyer. On 10 August, the court returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, but later the case was referred back to the court.

As late as June it turned out that the wiretapping of Klokov’s telephone conversations, which became the reason for initiating the case, was sanctioned on 28 January 2022 by Denis Ignatiev, a judge of the Moscow Regional Court. It was allegedly related to a murder of policemen almost 20 years prior and to the fact that Klokov’s father worked together with their alleged killer Vladislav Stepanov. The investigation considered the phone conversations public, as there were several of them. On 10 August, the court returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, but the case was later referred back to the court. On 24 April 2023, Klokov was sentenced to seven years in a general regime colony. In August 2023, the court of appeals affirmed the sentence. On 29 May 2024, the court of cassation reversed the ruling of the court of appeals and sent the case back for a new trial. On 23 July 2024, the court of appeals overturned the verdict and returned the case to the prosecutor’s office.

On 21 May 2025, the Perovsky District Court of Moscow began to re-examine the case. On 4 December, Klokov was sentenced again to seven years in a general regime colony.