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Dmitrichenko, Zarutsky, Lipatov Trial


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[Admin note: the posts about the trial have been split from the Sergei Filin Attacked thread.]

Day one of the trial. Sergei Filin was not present on account of returning to Germany for additional medical treatment. This is slightly odd timing considering that the Bolshoi Ballet is just under a week away from a major premiere. The prosecution contends that the defendants spent at least three months organizing the attack, Pavel Dmitrichenko buying black-market mobile phones and SIM-cards for communication purposes, Yuri Zarutsky boiling down battery acid to make it more concentrated.

For his part Dmitrichenko denied being part of a conspiracy. He also said that he had been unaware of Zarutsky's criminal record. Dmitrichenko read out a lengthy opening statement, but the part that, not surprisingly, caught the press' attention was his accusation that Filin demanded sexual favors from young female dancers in exchange for roles. In particular Dmitrichenko named Olga Smirnova as one such dancer.

Alleged attacker Zarutsky partially admitted his guilt, but insisted that the other two men were not involved. Alleged driver Andrei Lipatov denied involvement.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-bolshoi-ballet-acid-attack-trial-20131029,0,3472794.story#axzz2jBShfxS1

http://izvestia.ru/news/559756#ixzz2j8FNLL5h

http://www.mk.ru/social/justice/article/2013/10/29/937867-sergeya-filina-obvinili-v-intimnyih-otnosheniyah-s-artistkami.html?fb_action_ids=668319123199690&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[239767376181747]&action_type_map=[%22og.recommends%22]&action_ref_map=[]

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So much for Dmitrichenko's expressions of remorse. Interesting how he keeps coming up with new mud to sling on Filin in his desperate attempt to justify a crime he claims he's innocent of. I'm sure attacking the victim in his opening statement will really help his case. <insert sarcasm>

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It's probably worth noting that the presiding judge in the case, Elena Maksimova, was on the panel of judges that sentenced Mikhail Khodorkovsky to prison, and that in all the years that she has served on the bench at the Meshchansky District Court, she has never returned a not-guilty verdict: 150 convictions, zero acquittals, one dismissal. Whatever the merits of this case, I don't think a fair trial was ever in the cards. Dmitrichenko probably realizes that he is going down, so he is going down swinging.

http://izvestia.ru/news/558639

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The remorse thing was a temporary phase when he changed lawyers.

There is the pesky problem of the fellow dancer he brought along to the stakeout who heard him give the signal that Filin was leaving, although he didn't know the context at the time.

With all of the support Tsiskaridze has gotten from those high in government and close to Putin, and the sacking of Iksanov, I'm surprised she hasn't been told to make it go away by pinning the entire thing on the acid-making hit man.

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So much for Dmitrichenko's expressions of remorse. Interesting how he keeps coming up with new mud to sling on Filin in his desperate attempt to justify a crime he claims he's innocent of. I'm sure attacking the victim in his opening statement will really help his case. <insert sarcasm>

An expression of remorse can be misinterpreted as an admission in court. However, Pavel should be saddened by the injury. This should suffice to show the juror he is not a cold hearted man and has sympathy and empathy.

The strategy derives from his lawyer, presumably, to promote substantive and procedural goals. Pavel may wish to express clearly, succinctly, but briefly, compassion for the frail victim, the pain that he suffered, the loss to the theatre, and that that the dancers missed him generally.

It would be appropriate to explore Sergei, as the victim, to determine the facts of the specific crime, its gravity. and their effect; Achieving this will likely involve Sergei (in person, by video in Germany, or simply through pictures and medical records), his assistant, his wife, his doctor, and experts in chemistry and medicine.

Next, the defendants would set the stage for describing the tension between Sergei and Pavel. This would focus on the conflicting roles Pavel and Sergei held at the school, administration, and unions. Serge headed the school, but had a role with the union. As Union Rep., Pavel conferred with dancers, with Sergei, and with the union directors.

At the same time, Pavel must tactfully bring to light the undue influence Sergei enjoyed and the animus of both Sergei and Pavel deriving from Pavel's union efforts to promote dancer's rights and pay.. Sergei and Pavel disagreed on issues that included dancers' training, unfair roll allocation and money allocation, paltry payment generally, and Sergei's express role in choosing inadequate but favored girls to dance inappropriate rolls. Identifying dancers as paramours, sometimes under pressure, fits this category.

Pavel can explain how his hands became tied. He could have been put into a bind for himself or on behalf of anyone in need of his help. His impasses with Sergei would have left him with the need to explore options of how to deal with fundamental union questions, such as through hierarchy , or by communicating with more capable union reps. and experienced managers. This interaction likely involve an expression of a degree of desperation, if dancers complain of the need to trade favors for roles, or to be pimped out to patrons, or to face diminished roles for not participating. Bringing this up in this way should not be considered a smear campaign. Instead, it gives an idea of the mental state of the participants -rage over the sale of a young girl; helplessness in wrongful casting or in failing to earn enough, based on favoratism. These factors lead to to create a sense of desperation. This evidence would help chip away at the prosecutor's ability to establish that Pavel had the mental state needed to prove that Pavel acted with requisite intent. Instead, this evidence gives Pavel evidence to support his defense, in part, based on his frayed, confused, desperate, and fraying emotional state.

His failure to purchase or modify or use the instruments of harm. which is corroborated by the co-defendants, help Pavel's position totally, The prosecution cannot establish key elements, and proof of intent, malice, or even knowledge become nonexistent. The crux of the case become reckless behavior, at most.

.

A lawyer may seek a defense of justification or emotional distress, describing an effort to protect dancers preyed upon, failed attempts to achieve any success through legitimate means, or frustration at the abdication of responsibility by those in power. If you knew that an AD brought a vulnerable, innocent to perform on a casting call, your sense of chivalry might lead you to defend the girl, and get a message across. This may be a valid defense under various laws.. Most importantly, It is not an effort solely to sling mud and discredit a respected and injured man, which would otherwise backfire against a sympathetic victim. Rather, it is a defense based on diminished mental capacity, and precludes a finding of malice.

I have no idea what Nicholai Tisskaridze could add, except to bolster the defense, by reiterating that that Sergei managed improperly, by giving improper roles, studios, rehearsal times, and pay; by failing to protect the vulnerable from the vultures .

As far as we know, Pavel lacked control over the other two co-defendants. He did not participate in creating acid. He did not own or work on the aciid, or throw it, and he was not in the car when it was thrown.

Pavel cannot be shown to have asked his co-defendants for any more help than talk to Sergei to pressure Sergei into meeting to resolve problems. Smack talking does not equal evidence that Pavel directed the purchase of a dangerous chemical, ordered it to be modified, and directed it to be used in a dangerous manner, on dangerous part of the body.

The facts that about Sergei's behavior were unfortunate, but don't seem mentioned solely for salacious purposes or to discredit the victim. The seem factors in establishing the fight between the parties, the basis for the fight, and where the state can prove various mental capacities, or the defendants can raise affirmative defenses based on his position and mental capacity.

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The second day in court did not seem to reveal much that was new, except that during the investigation the apartment of Batyr Annadurdyev, in whose car Dmitrichenko had been the night of the attack, was searched, but nothing incriminating was found. According to medical documents, as of April Filin had 0.2% vision in his left eye, and while his injuries were not life-threatening, it was deemed that he had lost 35% of his capacity to work [don't really know what that means], which qualified him as a victim of grievous bodily harm.

A group of Bolshoi dancers was present to support Dmitrichenko, but they did not fit into the courtroom overcrowded with journalists and had to wait outside.

http://izvestia.ru/news/559906

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Filin testified today and denied Dmitrichenko's accusations, including those about alleged sexual impropriety. In court Filin said he cannot forgive anyone involved in the attack on him. Prior to leaving for Germany he gave several interviews on Russian television in which he stated that he had forgiven his attackers.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/197178/bolshoi-ballet-chief-to-testify-in-acid-attack-trial/

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I guess it's harder for Filin to feel forgiveness after suffering many months of hospitalization and surgeries in Germany, all the while having his name dragged through the mud by his alleged attackers. Not to mention the toll it's taken on his family.

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As to the allegations about the casting couch, Izvestia quoted Filin directly. I have to confess I found his choice of words unnecessarily crass.

Such an accusation directed at me, that artists who appear on stage in one role or another passed through my sheets, is an insult not to me, but to the ballerinas who supposedly had relations with me. My wife, who has had an intimate relationship with me for more than 10 years, does not dance like Olga Smirnova. And even if I were to have intimate relations with her all day long, she could not dance like that. Everyone has their own degree of talent. I did not make ​​my wife a soloist; as she was an artist of the corps de ballet, so she has remained.

http://izvestia.ru/news/56027

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I think he could have said something along the lines of: "If success within the Bolshoi Ballet were dependent on a dancer's personal relationship with me, my wife would be a prima ballerina by now. But she remains a member of the corps de ballet, as she was before I became director. What decides casting is a dancer's ability and suitability for a part." That way he could have avoided the strange, self-deprecating reference to his sexual prowess. It's not as though he weren't aware that a question on the subject would be asked.

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I understand the logic of, "It's insulting to suggest I promoted ballerinas who slept with me," and "If I were promoting and casting on the basis of sex, my wife would be Prima Ballerina Assoluta for Eternity," but the end could suggest he sleeps with everyone, but makes no decisions based on it.

He actually is self-deprecating about his sexual prowess: sleeping with him does not give the ballerina magical powers or talent...

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The facts that about Sergei's behavior were unfortunate, but don't seem mentioned solely for salacious purposes or to discredit the victim. The seem factors in establishing the fight between the parties, the basis for the fight, and where the state can prove various mental capacities, or the defendants can raise affirmative defenses based on his position and mental capacity.

I paused a little over the word "facts"--I realize some believe Dmitrichenko, but I personally wouldn't call everything he claims factual...I also do think he wants to discredit the victim which, indeed, as you describe is presumably part of his defense strategy. But what matters is Russian law on the one hand and its application on the other. I distinguish between the two since a courtroom in which the judge's findings are "guilty"100% of the time is unlikely to be applying the law in anything other than a highly interested way...

I thought Filin's remarks about the accusation of trading roles for sexual favors were hilarious. Not in the best of taste maybe and I do hope his wife gives him what for...but still hilarious. Of course it's a little less funny if he does screw around.

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Quoted from the Guardian's report on Filin's testimony:

Filin described Dmitrichenko's allegations that he slept with several ballerinas as an "absolute lie", and said the idea that "roles were handed out through my bedsheets" was nonsense. "I never had any intimate relations with any of these women. I want to repeat that I find it an insult to me and to these women because nothing of the sort ever happened."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/bolshoi-acid-attack-dancer-trial

I take that to mean that he denies sleeping with ballerinas - period. Not that he might have been sleeping with them but just didn't promote them because of it.

What purpose did that line of questioning serve? Even if Dmitrichenko can prove that everything he accuses Filin of is true, is that supposed to justify the acid attack? Who's the one on trial here - Dmitrichenko or Filin?

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Perhaps both are on trial... and more than just Dmitrichenko & Filin.... there always seems to yet another scandal unfolding..... everytime we take another look something else crawls out. Is it all lies on one side amd all truth on the other? Seems overly simplistic. Hopefully Mercutio isn't dying somewhere.

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Shaun Walker, the Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, has been covering the trial and he tweeted:

"Weird thing about Bolshoi trial is that questioning more about whether Filin *deserved* to be attacked than on whether Dmitrichenko did it"

Whether or not Filin is guilty of anything that Dmitrichenko has accused him of, he's already been severely punished. And it appears to be a life sentence, since his father-in-law testified that doctors told him that Filin will need treatment on his eyes for the rest of his life.

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His father-in-law testifies about what the doctors told him? Well, I don't know anything about Russian law, but surely it would make more sense to have the Doctors testify and/or submit affidavits from the Doctors in Germany. I wonder if they are doing that as well. I myself believe Filin's eyesight is permanently and seriously damaged and that a horrible crime has been committed against him--but lots of things about this trial as reported are odd to read about.

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Filin's father-in-law was testifying about the impact the attack had had on his family as well as his health when he spoke about being told that Filin would need lifelong treatment for his eyes. But I assume (and hope) that the prosecution plans to have some of the doctors who've been treating him testify about his medical condition.

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Filin's father-in-law was testifying about the impact the attack had had on his family as well as his health when he spoke about being told that Filin would need lifelong treatment for his eyes.

That makes more sense (to me at least...). Though of course (as noted by puppytreats & others) the laws would be quite different in any case.

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