Court proceedings related to criminal cases involving severe and particularly severe crimes may be held in the absence of the accused if he or she is outside the territory of the Russian Federation and avoids appearing in court, noted Timur Khutov, Head of Criminal Law Practice, BMS Law Firm.

“A person cannot be held criminally liable within such case in the territory of a foreign state.
These conditions are met by the present case, so it is quite likely that if the Russian authorities are unsuccessful in demanding the extradition of the accused, the verdict will be pronounced summarily”, he specified.