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Police complete experts examinations in GABT art director attack case

Sergei Filin was attacked near his house in Moscow late in the evening of January 17. An unidentified man splashed acid in his face

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, May 16 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow police have completed the expert examinations in the case over the attack on Bolshoi Theatre art director Sergei Filin, the press service of city police told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

"Tomorrow, the investigator will brief the suspects at pre-trial detention center # 2 on the results of the forensic-medical expert examinations," the press service said.

The 42-year-old ballet art director was attacked near his house Troitskaya Street in Moscow late in the evening of January 17. An unidentified man splashed acid in his face and fled the scene. Filin was hospitalized with serious face and eye burns.

Police arrested Bolshoi Theatre leading soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko as suspected mastermind, perpetrator Yuri Zarutsky who has a criminal record and driver Andrei Lipatov who had brought Zarutsky to the scene of crime. If convicted, they might face up to 12 years in jail /Article 111, Part 3 of Russia's penal code/.

Law-enforcement bodies claimed all the suspects had confessed to the crime.

GABT director general Anatoly Iksanov made it clear that Dmitrichenko would not be fired if the court did not prove his culpability. Bolshoi Theatre employees said in an open letter that Dmitrichenko could not have masterminded the crime.

Filin, who is convalescing abroad, said he was not in conflict with Dmitrichenko and that he felt "no enmity toward him." The official version of the attack is Dmitrichenko's "hate toward Filin because of the latter's activity in office."

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