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Good afternoon, Alla Yefremovna.
It is a pleasure to see you at the Khamovniki Court today,
where the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev is going on.
What are your impressions of what you have seen today
and of the witness for the prosecution?
Alla Yefremovna Gerber: This is not my first time here as you know.
It’s the third or the fourth one…
My first impression – as March 4 marks one year of the beginning of this trial –
is that the strong will and courage
of Mikhal Borisovich and Platon Leonidovich show through that glass [of the defendants’ dock].
Of course, they have changed a little over the year, and that is very sad.
They have changed externally, but they have not changed internally, absolutely.
They are very concentrated.
I understand that these people are unique; sitting in the courtroom,
I feel the uniqueness of these people.
I have listened to testimony by a witness for the defense;
he sounded very precise, very professional;
he does not go beyond what he can know;
he says that all the time, “I am a lawyer, not an accountant.”
To me, his testimony worked more in favor
of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev than against them.
As always, Mikhail Borisovich and Platon Leonidovich
formulate their questions very precisely;
those very questions contain the essence and the sense
of that a sinister, monstrous sham is happening.
As always, the impression is very sad,
because you cannot help but feel horrified when you think
that very soon, only in a month, this will have lasted for one year;
how long is it possible to torture people?
Such brains should be used for the good, not to the detriment!