Yunusov Akhat Akhnafovich , Magizov Rustem Robertovich

Current issues of witness interrogation as a common investigative action in Russian criminal procedure are examined. The requirements of criminal procedure legislation regarding the witness as a source of evidentiary information are established: the ability to perceive, analyze, and communicate information about the circumstances of a socially dangerous act. It is revealed that existing criminal law prohibitions (liability measures) on compulsion to testify and requirements to give truthful testimony are insufficient in the face of unlawful influence from the accused and his associates, and in some cases, from representatives of criminal prosecution authorities. It is noted that, in order to eliminate such influence, the law provides a procedure for classifying the witness's identity and allowing anonymous participation in the preliminary investigation and in court. Based on an examination of judicial practice and doctrinal sources, doubts of the defense regarding the actual existence of such a witness and the reliability of their testimony are identified, as well as questions concerning compliance with the principles of adversarial proceedings and equality of arms. The main tasks are formulated: to examine the relationship between the need to protect the witness and the accused's right to a face-to-face confrontation and cross-examination; to analyze the difficulties of verifying the identity of a classified witness without compromising their safety. The necessity of confirming the identity of a classified witness through covert methods, followed by judicial oversight, is substantiated. Recommendations are developed to enhance the guarantees of justice, including mechanisms for disclosing the witness's identity to the court and the defense while maintaining anonymity vis-à-vis the accused

witness, security measures, court decision, preliminary investigation, false testimony, false influence

Yunusov Akhat Akhnafovich – Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department Law Disciplines, Naberezhnye Chelny Institute (branch) of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (10A (11/29), Syuyumbike ave., Naberezhnye Chelny, 423812, Russian Federation), ORCID: 0000-0001-6414-8993, RSCI Author ID: 487362, e-mail: axatuk@rambler.ru

Magizov Rustem Robertovich – Candidate of Juridical Sciences, Associate Professor Head of the Department of Legal Disciplines, Naberezhnye Chelny Institute (branch) of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (10A (11/29), Syuyumbike ave., Naberezhnye Chelny, 423812, Russian Federation), ORCID: 0000-0001-7918-0371, RSCI Author ID: 373083, e-mail: Rustemleng@rambler.ru

Yunusov A.A., Magizov R.R. K voprosu o dopustimosti pokazaniy zasekrechennogo svidetelya [On the Admissibility of Testimony from a Secret Witness] Sibirskij yuridicheskij vestnik [Siberian Law Herald]. 2026, no 2 (113), pp. 143–151. – DOI 10.26516/2071-8136.2026.2.143 (in Russian).

343.103

1. Aleksandrov A.S., Yunusov A.A., Rybushkin N.N. Sovremennaya pravovaya organizatsiya sudebnogo dokazyvaniya i "nezavisimye, ob"ektivnye" sud'i [Modern legal organization of judicial proof and "independent, objective" judges]. Uchenye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye nauki [Scientific Proceedings of Kazan University. Humanities Series], 2020, vol. 162, no. 2, pp. 186-200. DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.2.186-200 (in Russian)

2. Beketov M., Samoroka V. Povody i osnovaniya prinyatiya resheniya o primenenii mer bezopasnosti [Grounds and reasons for deciding to apply security measures]. Ugolovnoye pravo [Criminal Law], 2016, no. 3, pp. 103-109. (in Russian)

3. Brusnitsyn L.V. Dopros pod psevdonimom [Interrogation under a pseudonym]. Zakonnost [Legality], 2003, no. 1, pp. 27-29. (in Russian)

4. Brusnitsyn L.V. Poterpevshiye i svideteli pod psevdonimom: natsionalnoye zakonodatelstvo i pretsedenty Yevropeyskogo Suda po pravam cheloveka [Victims and witnesses under a pseudonym: national legislation and precedents of the European Court of Human Rights]. Ugolovnoye pravo [Criminal Law], 2002, no. 2, pp. 125-127. (in Russian)

5. Epikhin A.Yu. Predposylki primeneniya mer bezopasnosti uchastnikov ugolovnogo protsessa [Prerequisites for the application of security measures for participants in criminal proceedings]. Tatishchevskiye chteniya: Aktualnyye problemy nauki i praktiki [Tatishchev Readings: Current Problems of Science and Practice]. In 2 parts. Tolyatti, 2014, pp. 180-183. (in Russian)

6. Kovtun N.N., Yunusov A.A. Stadiya podgotovki ugolovnogo dela k sudebnomu razbiratelstvu: problemy normativnogo regulirovaniya i prakticheskoy realizatsii [The stage of preparation of a criminal case for trial: problems of regulatory regulation and practical implementation]. Kazan, Novoe znanie Publ., 2005, 294 p. (in Russian)

7. Kraynov V.I. Nekotoryye problemnyye voprosy gosudarstvennoy zashchity poterpevshego i svidetelya [Some problematic issues of state protection of the victim and witness]. Rossiyskiy sledovatel' [Russian Investigator], 2008, no. 9, pp. 25-27. (in Russian)

8. Krasnova K.A., Ivlieva N.V. Otmena mer bezopasnosti: problemy teorii i praktiki [Cancellation of security measures: problems of theory and practice]. Politseyskaya i sledstvennaya deyatelnost [Police and Investigative Activity], 2015, no. 2, pp. 72-86. (in Russian)

9. Smushkin A.B. Pred"yavleniye dlya opoznaniya v usloviyakh, isklyuchayushchikh vospriyatiye opoznayushchego opoznavayemym, kak sposob obespecheniya bezopasnosti uchastnika ugolovnogo protsessa [Presentation for identification under conditions excluding the perception of the identifying person by the identified person as a way to ensure the safety of a participant in criminal proceedings]. Rossiyskiy sledovatel [Russian Investigator], 2013, no. 15, pp. 11-13. (in Russian)

10. Khalikov A.N. Obespecheniye bezopasnosti pri sokrytii dannykh o lichnosti [Ensuring security when concealing personal data]. Zakonnost [Legality], 2007, no. 10, pp. 43-45. (in Russian)