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Cambodia begins probe into case against Russian businessman

The investigators were headed for the vessel where the incident had occurred, to "gather evidence and question the injured parties"

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

BANGKOK, January 9 (Itar-Tass) — Cambodia has launched a probe into the case against Russian businessman Sergei Polonsky and his two fellow countrymen – Konstantin Baglai and Alexander Karachinsky, the Cambodian lawyer of the Russians Virakbot Suong Khun told Itar-Tass by telephone from Sihanoukville.

The investigators were headed for the vessel where the incident had occurred, to "gather evidence and question the injured parties," Suong Khun said.

The court intends to obtain the maximum amount of information within the case, both from the injured parties and the suspected offenders. "Only then will the defense be able to request bail; I believe it might happen in late January," the lawyer underlined.

Head of the consulate department at the Russian Embassy in Cambodia Pavel Seskanov said Polonsky, Baglai and Karachinsky might face one to three years in prison. "The three Russians are in custody in the Sihanoukville prison," the diplomat said, "the Sihanoukville prosecutor extended the arrest without specifying the date."

Speaking about the prison conditions, Seskanov said underlining "the prison conditions are normal; no privileges have been granted to anyone. The Russians have not complained about the prison conditions."

The entrepreneur and his friends were detained on December 31, 2012. According to Cambodia police, during a pleasure trip on a yacht, three Russians, in a state of alcoholic intoxication, attacked, with a knife, the crew who were taking them to an island. Three men locked the captain and five crew in a yacht cabin and bathroom and then made them jump overboard.

Polonsky said he and his friends had been detained for launching fireworks during the New Year celebration. The Russians could not produce their IDs to the military who arrived to investigate the noise, and therefore were arrested due to misunderstanding, the businessman claimed.

He wrote on Facebook that he would insist on a probe into his case by prosecutor. "I would have been released in 15 minutes if I had admitted my guilt. But I will be set free in case of my complete acquittal, because I'm innocent," Polonsky said.

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