The Russian émigré faces up to 10 years in prison.
Photo: Alastair Grant
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Berezovsky’s Russian Lawyer Says He Doesn’t Give a Damn
A trial for self-exiled Russian tycoon Berezovsky gets underway at a Moscow court on Thursday in his absence. Mr. Berezovsky’s free lawyer told the Izvestia newspaper he “does not give a damn” about the case and “had seen more than enough of trials back in the Soviet times.”
Alexander Dudkin, 62, has been appointed to defend Boris Berezovsky in the Savelovsky Court after the Russian businessman instructed his lawyers not to take part in the trial. Mr. Dudkin said he had asked the court to put off the trial for at least one month to examine the case files, RIA Novosti said.
Alexander Asnis, member of the Moscow Bar Association, said lawyers are not allowed to show indifference to the cases they are instructing to defend, the Ekho Moskvy radio reported.
Alexander Dudkin also said he was surprised that a free lawyer had been appointed in an economic crime. Earlier reports said that the lawyer will be paid from the Russian state coffers.
Boris Berezovsky, who has lived in self-imposed exile in London since 2001, is accused of embezzling 214 million rubles from Aeroflot and laundering 16 million rubles in case. The Russian émigré faces up to 10 years in prison.
www.kommersant.com
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