Moscow Trial Halted Over Calm Reporters’ ‘Circus-Like’ Behavior

The trial of chemist Vil S. Mirzayanov for revealing secrets about Russia’s chemical weapons program took a turn for the absurd Thursday when the prosecutor blamed a group of human rights activists and journalists for allegedly obstructing the proceedings.

The trial was postponed until today, when it will presumably resume under even heavier security to prevent the whistle-blower from speaking to the media.

Prosecutor Leonid S. Pankratov charged Thursday that observers and journalists waiting quietly behind a line of armed Interior Ministry troops to glimpse the jailed chemist were a mob that prevented Mirzayanov from being brought into the courtroom.

“First learn some manners! Then ask questions!” Pankratov shouted at the group, adding that the trial had been postponed “because of your circus-like behavior.”

Mirzayanov was charged in 1992 after he co-authored a newspaper article alleging that Russia had developed and tested a binary chemical weapon more powerful than any previously known--after Yeltsin had pledged to halt chemical weapons production.

The 57-year-old chemist was detained again Jan. 27 after refusing to appear at a closed-door trial he has called a farce.