Twelve leading former Soviet officials charged with carrying out the botched August 1991 coup went on trial Wednesday, with defense lawyers arguing the Russian Supreme Court had no right to hear the case.
The trial adjourned to consider objections by attorneys for the 12 defendants that the military section of the Supreme Court hearing the case had no jurisdiction because it was not the legal successor to the old Soviet Supreme Court - the only body that had the right to hear charges against senior Soviet officials."The union no longer exists. So it seems to me we have today to decide who can judge an alleged crime against a state that may no longer exist," said Genrikh Pavda, defense attorney for former Soviet Parliament Chairman Anatoly Lukyanov.
Pavda also said the charges relating to the three days that Gorbachev was held under house arrest during the coup at his holiday villa in Phoros in the Crimea took place in what is now a foreign country, Ukraine, and could not be examined by a Russian court.
The 12 men, who include former Soviet Vice President Gennady Yanayev and former Soviet Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov, were arrested in August 1991 after trying to seize power from then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was held incommunicado in Phoros for three days at the coup-leaders' behest.
The men, all once senior Communist Party officials and close colleagues of Gorbachev, are charged with high treason and could face the death penalty.
Several of them are also charged with exceeding their powers of office, using false authority and neglect of their duties.
Genrikh Reznik, lawyer for KGB Gen. Yuri Plekhanov, said the case should be heard by a jury, rather than under the existing Soviet-era system where a single judge and two "people's assessors" - laymen with no formal legal expertise - render judgment.
Reznik said Russia's planned legal reform introducing jury trials should be implemented for the coup hearing.
Other lawyers suggested a special court be convened with representatives of all 15 former Soviet republics.
Presiding judge Maj. Gen. Anatoly Ukolov said he would consider the objections later.
"This is political revenge. Completely innocent people have been sitting in jail, patriots of Russia," said Yanayev, who looked painfully thin after losing 50 pounds while in prison.
He was speaking before the trial to a crowd of Communist and nationalist supporters, who marched with the 12 to the court building in downtown Moscow.