Russian ballet star denies ordering an acid attack

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

MOSCOW (AP) — The star dancer accused of masterminding the attack on the Bolshoi ballet chief acknowledged Thursday that he gave the go-ahead for the attack, but told a Moscow court that he did not order anyone to throw acid on the artistic director's face.

The judge, however, refused to release Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on bail and ordered him and his two co-defendants held until at least April 18 while the investigation continued.

Ballet chief Sergei Filin's face and eyes suffered severe burns in the Jan. 17 attack, which exposed a culture of deep intrigue and infighting at the famed theater celebrated for its grand, classical ballets.

Dmitrichenko said he had complained about the ballet chief to an acquaintance, who offered to "beat him up."

"It's not true that I ordered him to throw acid at Filin," the 29-year-old dancer told the court, speaking from a cage. He said he had never intended for the attack to cause such bodily harm.

Moscow police said Thursday that Dmitrichenko had paid 50,000 rubles (about $1,600) to the man, Yuri Zarutsky, accused of throwing the jar of acid in the ballet chief's face as he returned home late at night. The third defendant, Andrei Lipatov, drove the getaway car, but said in video provided by police that he did not know the purpose of his mission.

Suspect detained in Bolshoi acid attack

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Breaking news update from the AP:

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian police say they have detained three men, including a star dancer, in the January acid attack on the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet.

Sergei Filin was left with severe burns to his eyes and face when an unidentified attacker threw a jar of sulfuric acid in his face as he was returning home late on Jan. 17. The 42-year-old former dancer is now undergoing treatment in Germany.

Interior Ministry spokesman Anatoly Lastovetsky said Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko was among those arrested on Tuesday.

The two others are the suspected perpetrator of the attack and the man suspected of driving him to and from the scene.

It was not immediately clear what role the dancer is suspected of playing in the attack.

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Moscow police have detained a suspect whom they believe may be responsible for the attack on Bolshoi ballet artistic director Sergei Filin, who was hospitalized after a man splashed acid on his face in January. The Russian Interior Ministry announced today that it is conducting “a series of urgent investigative actions," including the detention of the suspect and searching of the suspect's home.

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Russian ballet star denies ordering an acid attack

Suspect detained in Bolshoi acid attack