"I just want to be close to my family" – Mullin is asking to be placed under house arrest again.

      Today, the city court of Naberezhnye Chelny extended the preventive measure for the former mayor of Nizhnekamsk, Ramil Mullin – he will remain in pre-trial detention for another two months, until June. During the proceedings, the former official, who appeared less enthusiastic today than in previous sessions, once again expressed hope for the mercy of the Almighty and the justice of the law. He, along with his lawyers, requested to be placed under house arrest. – I understand that today a formal question is being considered, the question of extending the preventive measure, but for me, this is not a formality. Behind each such decision are months of human life, the fate of a family, the fate of a person who has worked and lived among people all his life. I was born and raised in the Republic of Tatarstan. My whole life is connected with this land, with these people who live here. For many years, I worked in public municipal service, dealt with issues of district development, solved problems that concern residents, – Mullin stated. – I have never lived a separate life from the people. I have always lived next to them, in the same village, on the same street, saw them every day, heard their requests, criticism, and expectations. And I have always tried to build my work based on this, so that the district, the city would develop, so that people would have places to walk with their children, so that there were roads, lighting, schools, and hospitals. Much has been done over the years, but I have never perceived this as a personal achievement. It was simply my job, my duty to the people, to the Almighty. Today, I find myself in a situation where I am accused of a crime that I believe I did not commit. Mullin emphasized – he does not consider himself guilty in the two episodes attributed to him. – I do not admit my guilt in what is being charged against me. I have never deceived, nor appropriated any funds. I have always acted openly, based on the interests of the city, the district, the republic. Since my detention, I have not hidden, nor evaded the investigation, answering all questions and am ready to continue doing so. I have nothing to hide. I understand that the investigation must establish all the circumstances, and I am just as interested in this as anyone else. Because it is important for me that the truth is established, – Mullin continued. – But it is hard for me to understand why it is necessary to continue keeping me in a pre-trial detention center for this. I have a home, a family, children. My whole life is here, in the Republic of Tatarstan, I never intended and do not intend to hide or in any way interfere with the investigation. I just want to be treated as fairly and objectively as I have always tried to treat the people I worked with. I ask the court to consider the possibility of changing the preventive measure to a milder one. I am ready to comply with all court and investigation requirements, to appear at every summons, and to participate in all investigative actions. I just want to have the opportunity to stay close to my family and wait for the investigation to end. Thank you, I hope for your favor. Ramil Mullin is accused of a scam involving payments to contractors for the special military operation – according to the investigation, at least 24.7 million rubles "leaked" from the budget of the Nizhnekamsk district, plus 11 million rubles in damages caused to DOSAAF. The second episode – abuse of office, is related to the "SOLNCE" school in Nizhnekamsk. The investigation believes that Mullin provided the organization with premises in the city for free use and also employed "SOLNCE" staff in municipal institutions. Preliminary damages are about 10 million rubles.