TV Punch-Up: Lebedev Pleads Not Guilty
The Evening Standard tycoon admits the attack on a property magnate during a live debate but claims it was in self-defence.
Newspaper tycoon Alexander Lebedev has pleaded not guilty to a charge of politically-motivated hooliganism at the start of his trial for punching a fellow oligarch during a TV debate.
The former KGB spy admits punching property magnate Sergei Polonsky, knocking him off his chair, during the studio recording in 2011.
But he claims it was in self-defence and that the case against him has more to do with his stake in Novaya Gazeta -- one of the only independent newspapers in Russia, which is critical of President Putin's administration.
Lebedev's family owns the London Evening Standard as well as the Independent newspaper group. He co-owns 49% of Novaya Gazeta with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
He has previously said he believes he is being prosecuted on the orders of the Kremlin because President Vladimir Putin thinks he is supporting the opposition and interfering in the country's politics.
The billionaire businessman is being tried under a section of the same law used to convict feminist punk band Pussy Riot last year.
If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison
Addressing the judge at Moscow's Ostankino court, Lebedev said he did not understand the charges against him.
He said: "I don't think I'm guilty and I don't understand the charges because there was no motive for hooliganism.
"There was no political hatred and there could not have been any between the two strangers, one of whom, by the way, according to the witness for the defence, behaved aggressively and provocatively.
"I saw Polonsky for the first time in my life on the TV show, and the motive of my action was completely different."
Lebedev has claimed that Polonsky threatened other participants in the green room before the debate, which was meant to tackle the global financial crisis.
The judge rejected his request for further clarification of the charges and asked the prosecutor to begin calling witnesses.
The prosecutor, however, admitted that they might have difficulty summoning their main witness -- Polonsky.
Polonsky's whereabouts are currently unknown after he bailed himself out of a Cambodian prison where he was awaiting trial for allegedly kidnapping local sailors aboard a private yacht he had hired on holiday.
The controversial tycoon is well known in Russia for his unusual antics, which have included eating part of his tie after losing a bet, naming both his son and his dog after his company 'Mirax', and firing 90% of his company over the course of one year after being told to make cutbacks.
Polansky is rumoured to be in Europe, despite having signed court documents in Cambodia promising not to leave the country.
But even if the alleged victim refuses to attend court and declines to press charges, the state can still pursue the charge of hooliganism against Lebedev, and has already lined up several secondary 'victims' who claim they were traumatised by watching the incident on television.
The first witness to give evidence said Polonsky had been behaving 'like a bad child' from the start of the recording.
Anna Savina, who also took part in the debate, told the court: "The whole programme he was dissatisfied with something, constantly jumping up, interrupting.
"Most of his discontent spread to Lebedev. Maybe it's because they sat side by side."
"Did Polonsky promise to punch someone in the face?" Lebedev's lawyer, Henry Reznik, asked.
"Yes," Ms Savina replied, "he said this phrase shortly before the conflict".
Lebedev, on the other hand, she said, "behaved like a man restrained".
A second witness, who worked on the show as a cameraman, told the court he had not seen the incident at the time, but had since watched a recording on the internet.
His testimony appeared to provoke indignation from the judge who asked the prosecutor why it was necessary to interview those who saw a programme on TV or the Internet, adding that in that case it would be possible to enrol half of the country as witnesses.
Lebedev has many powerful enemies in Russia, not least the ranks of the criminal and the corrupt, whose dealings his newspaper investigates.
He has said he fears for his safety if he is sent to prison, but that he must prepare himself for that eventuality.
