A solicitor from Kazakhstan has been barred from practising law and faces jail after thwacking a judge with a flyswatter.

In the CCTV footage Evgeniy Tankov, who was unhappy with the way his hearing was progressing, can be seen approaching the judge in a corridor with his chosen weapon, saying, "Let's not hang about arguing the law here, let's decide this with fly swatters". Then slapping the judge in the face with it. The judge manages to parry Tankov's follow-up with a file, but a third swipe gets through and achieves full armpit contact.


  A helpful servant of the court attempting to catch a fly yesterday

In a further blow to the dignity of the Kazakh court, it doesn't end there. As Tankov strides away, the opposing attorney pops up and punches him in the head. Then the judge recovers himself, runs over to Tankov and starts wrestling him. The three lawyers cling to each other in the corridor, grappling for supremacy (and overturning a desk in the process), before Tankov is eventually disarmed.

Proud and glorious officials for the court of Kazakhstan said Tankov had been barred from practising and charged with assault. Reflecting the gravity of the offence, he faces a decade in jail.
Tip Off ROF

Comments

Anonymous 25 July 14 13:15

Good grief, RoF - it's "Kazakh", not "Kazahk", and "Kazakhstan", not "Kazakstan". It's like you're asking this guy to come chase you with a fly-swatter...

Jamie Hamilton 25 July 14 13:26

Thanks anonymous 12:15. Amended to avoid reprisals from countrymen armed with insect-o-cutors and glue traps.

Anonymous 12 August 14 15:19

My name is Natalya Dyu, I am an artist of contemporary art, participant of Central Asian Pavilion; 52a Venice Biennial and others. one of the heroes in film by Waldemar Januszczak (british art critic) which was making for Channel 4.
And I am ready for any interview.

Just want to explain and ask to help Tankov.

Yevgeniy Tankov is our well-known artist, also a lawyer and a human rights activist, based in the city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

On July 24th this year our so-called "court of law" sentenced him to three years in prison. We must tell you that during the past 10 years in his law practice, his social and human rights activism and in his capacity as an artist not only did he help hundreds of those who found themselves in difficult circumstances, he also managed to raise the most burning questions regarding the realities of our social, political and public life. In this short text it is impossible to mention the countless people he helped to a greater or lesser degree.

And he was amazingly creative and fun in the way he did it! For example, in an effort to demonstrate the ineffectualness of our judicial system, he once called the Cardinal de Richelieu to the witness stand in court. When calling on our law-enforcement agencies to be more humane, he gave out oranges to the passers-by on the agencies' behalf. He fought for the right of our public to have a decent assembly space. He mocked the absurdity of our local legislative decisions and the backwardness with which the authorities treated our citizens in governmental institutions.

All this Zhenia (short for Yevgeniy) did for minimal reward or for free. It is worth mentioning that in his creativity and inventiveness in the way he attempted to impact the authorities, Tankov surpassed many not only here but also abroad! In his last performance he challenged a judge to a duel during a court hearing in which the judge following the old corrupt practice substituted the legal paperwork of the current hearing with the already finished paperwork of a previously closed case.

The judge as a servant of law showed complete contempt to the law itself. And so in a ritualistic and jocose manner, Tankov slapped the judge with a fly swatter 3 times for which he got 3 years in prison! In his final statement Yevgeniy Tankov said that in principle he is against violence in any attempts to alter the current situation in our government.

And that he considers it to be very important to patiently and insistently change the attitude of our judges, public prosecutors and policemen to the professional understanding of their status being based in their honor and not visa versa. We are certain that those who are so persistent and selfless in their attempts to restore the health of the civil and social climate in our country are far and few between. That is why, dear friends, we call on you to join us in our appeal to revise the unjust verdict to Yevgeniy Tankov!

We thank you for your understanding and support! Freedom to Yevgeniy Tankov! http://tankov.jimdo.com/

Sincerely, Natalya