He does not have billions of dollars and his arrest did not shake the foundations of the Russian stock market. But in a spare and cramped courtroom in Moscow, Igor Sutyagin stands trial these days in a case that human rights groups consider as important as that of the imprisoned oil tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Sutyagin, a Russian arms control researcher accused of high treason for allegedly passing secrets to the United States, has already spent four years behind bars. Finally, after many twists and turns, he has his chance to plead his case in what apparently is the first espionage trial to go to a jury in Russia. A panel of 12 Russians was selected last week to decide the case in Moscow City Court and attorneys will begin presenting evidence behind closed doors on Tuesday. Even before the first witness was called, the trial drew public recriminations last week as Sutyagin’s attorneys unsuccessfully sought the removal of the judge on grounds he improperly allowed previously dropped charges to be reintroduced. Full Story
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