Trial judge rebukes Brezhnev son-in-law

Press, 29 September 1988, Page 11

Trial judge rebukes Brezhnev son-in-law

NZPA-Reuter Moscow The former Soviet First Deputy Interior Minister, Yuri Churbanov, on trial for taking bribes and abuse of power, was rebuked yesterday by the judge after an angry exchange with the prosecutor, Tass news agency said. It said the incident occurred after Churbanov completed his testimony and refused to answer further prosecution questions. On being pressed, he accused the prosecution lawyer of starting “an

incomprehensible confrontation”. Judge Mikhail Marov intervened, saying: “Nobody is going to let you altercate, Churbanov,” and telling him, “Don’t forget you’re in the dock.” Churbanov, son-in-law of the late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, is accused of taking more than one million dollars in bribes. He has pleaded guilty to abusing his position but denies the more serious bribery charge. Churbanov, aged 51, told the court he ac-

cepted large sums of money from officials in Uzbekistan, regarding them as presents. “He asserts that he doesn’t see them as bribes since, in his words, he has never offered any protection or assistance in return for the money,” Tass quoted Churbanov’s defence counsel, Andrei Makarov, as saying. Foreign reporters were barred from the trial four days after it began on September 5. It is expected to last two months.