Court to resume Wednesday to consider limit on his acquaintance with case materials

On Tuesday the Ingodinsky district court announced that it would resume consideration of the investigation petition to set a deadline of 15 December for Platon Lebedev to become acquainted with the case materials.

The judge heard the defence and the prosecution and studied the presented documents before declaring a recess.

The investigators consider that Platon Lebedev and his lawyers are dragging out the process. “The criminal case consists of 168 volumes. Lebedev has completely read 155, partially familiarised himself with eight more, and has not yet looked at five volumes,” said a prosecution spokesman.

The defence denied this claim: “The criminal case has grown not by ten volumes but by a further 41,” lawyer Vladimir Krasnov told the court. “Three months ago I signed for all 168 volumes.” However the materials in these volumes has undergone significant changes, he added.

“In the first volume there were 300 pages, now there are 281. In volume
six there were 249 pages, now there are 300,” he said by way of example.

During the hearing the defence lawyers pointed to a discrepancy between the petition and the charges. In the petition it says that Platon Lebedev misappropriated 38% of the shares in VNK plc.

“The investigation cannot present documents to the court confirming the accusation, indicated in the petition, that VNK shares were stolen. Neither can it say on which pages of the criminal case that information is to be found,” Vladimir Krasnov told the court.

“I am accused of things that do not exist, theft from the State and subsequent legalisation of the funds. Investigator Alyshev is aware that such an event did not take place and that this is not the only such episode,” Platon Lebedev declared. “Let the investigators present the documents and justify their position. I request that investigator Alyshev be personally reprimanded for systematic falsification and abuse of office.”

Lebedev’s defence lawyers consider a restriction on the period for acquaintance with the criminal case is unfounded, pointing to the lack of reasons for doing so and the violations committed by the investigators.

“The investigation has not informed the court how long Lebedev was unable to read the case materials for justified and unjustified reasons. Meanwhile, the investigators were carrying on a parallel investigation,” Krasnov told the court.

The investigation do not take into account the special regime under which Lebedev is detained, Krasnov added. “I do not familiarise myself with the case materials when I want to but when I am taken to the prosecutor’s office,” said Platon Lebedev in support of his lawyers. “I am more interested than anyone in finishing this work but only if the investigators will conduct themselves properly.”

(Interfax, 18.11.2008)