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The jurors' conversations in the courtroom were taped. The entire trial was secretly taped. The proof of this is that a letter from Yegorova to the Justice Ministry, directed against Pichugin's defence team, quoted verbatim from every conversation that had taken place in the courtroom, even including interjections and exclamations - that is, it included things that would not normally be included in the transcript. So there must have been a secret recording.
It's standard practice in surveillance operations to photograph and note down all meetings of the targets - in this instance meaning the jurors, who should be untouchable for the duration of the trial. The judge and prosecution were aware of what was happening. On one occasion Judge Olikhver accidentally revealed this as she rebuked a juror in the courtroom: "You were seen at such-and-such a time in such-and-such a place..."
Suppose that in the West one of the parties to a trial hires a private detective to follow the jurors. Or even worse - that state security agents, acting in their superiors' professional or personal interests, keep files on every member of the jury and eavesdrop on their conversations in court and out. That would be a criminal offence and if they were caught at it, jail terms would result.
The law in the West would treat this as a serious crime, on a par with armed robbery. It would automatically lead to dismissal and disqualification - anyone who did this would be finished in the West. But in Russia, you get a bonus.
3. Mr Pashin, the retired judge, provides another example: "Sometimes the jurors are selected in a particular way to ensure that the wrong verdict can be cancelled. If need be, of course. For example, during screening a potential juror fails to mention that he works in the law-enforcement agencies. Then, if the accused is acquitted, the verdict can be thrown out by the Supreme Court on the grounds of non-disclosure by a member of the jury. If the accused is convicted, those who work with that juror keep quiet and the verdict is upheld."
We learned that a former Lt-Col in the external intelligence service on the jury for the Sutyagin trial , when asked about his occupation, said he was a businessman. He did not disclose his past.
4. The law allows a jury to be dismissed in two circumstances. Firstly, if its composition is unbalanced. For example, if the jury for a rape trial consists solely of women. And secondly, when a guilty verdict is handed down to a defendant who in the eyes of the court is clearly innocent. Juries can be dismissed when a new judge takes over a case, or when one or more jurors for whatever reason are unable to play any further part in the proceedings.
This is how they handled the Sutyagin trial. And a smuggling case reported in detail by Leonid Nikitinskiy in Novaya Gazeta. In Anglo-Saxon countries, the opposite rule applies: once a case is under the scrutiny of a jury, it cannot be removed from that composition of the jury under any pretext.
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