US businessman Edmond Pope, on trial for espionage in Moscow, has asked the court for a day off so he can celebrate the annual Thanksgiving holiday, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Pope, 54, wants the month-long trial to be suspended Thursday enabling him to meet with US embassy officials here and eat his traditional Thanksgiving turkey in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, Pavel Astakhov said.
The defence team has also lodged a request for key testimonies compiled by chief prosecutor Oleg Plotnikov to be ruled inadmissible on the grounds that his son was allegedly one of the top investigators into the case.
"We want the documents compiled by Plotnikov to be struck out because they are legally invalid, and that includes the transcript of court proceedings since the beginning of the trial" on October 20, Astakhov said -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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