NEW YORK, November 23. /TASS/. Russian diplomats have made sure that a certified interpreter will be present at the January 10, 2022, hearing of the case of Russian national Ivan Poroshin, a ballet instructor charged with sexual assault on one of his students, Russian Consul General in Houston Alexander Zakharov told TASS.

According to him, the diplomatic mission is keeping a close eye on the situation. "Given that Ivan Poroshin’s family doesn’t have the money to hire a private lawyer, which as you know costs a lot of money in the US, he has been provided with a public defender," Zakharov noted. "Unfortunately, [the lawyer] is not quite willing to make contact with consulate officials. We have passed a list of Russian-speaking private lawyers to Poroshin’s family and made sure that a certified interpreter will be present at a hearing scheduled for January 10, 2022," the Russian consul general added.