Muratov: “This Is No Way to Treat an Open Trial”
Dmitry Muratov, the editor of independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, attended the Khodorkovsky/Lebedev trial on May 12th. He listened attentively to the prosecution's evidence. And didn't hear a thing.
"I don't understand why the prosecution doesn't respect the High Court. After all, in our country, in accordance with the Constitution and with our legislation, a trial is adversarial, it is open. But instead of this, the two procurators were reading materials from the bill of indictment that concern contracts in monotonous voices that were absolutely inaudible to anybody in the courtroom. What I was able to make out sounded like this: "were found in collateral, but were not encumbered by debts." Well then, pick one phrase or the other. Both are impossible.
This is read especially in such a way so that people wouldn't hear. So that people would drop dead. Several flies dropped dead before my eyes. I express my sympathies to them. This is no way to treat an open trial and this is no way to treat a judge. Perhaps the judge, of course, did hear - they were sitting closer to him, after all - but in the courtroom you couldn't hear a thing. Nothing! Aren't there enough microphones in the country for the state prosecution?!
I spoke with 10 total strangers today, and asked what they had heard. "We didn't hear a thing," the people replied."