"We will surely lodge a brief appeal to the Moscow City Court on Monday, while following receipt of the sentence we will lodge an explicit appeal," said Mr. Tovt.
In the lawyer's opinion, the criminal episode, Yulia Pelekhova was convicted for, is missing. Besides, the lawyer believes that during the phase of the pre-trial investigation, testimonies proving innocence of his client were not attached to the case.
Following announcement of the sentence Ms. Pekekhova herself stated that the whole proceedings had been based upon perjury and counterfeit.
Found as complainant in the case was businesswoman Oksana Tokareva, who stated that Yulia Pelekhova had been extorting $100,000.
In course of the proceedings Ms. Tokareva reported that she had met Ms. Pelekhova in January-February 2002, when the reporter interviewed her with regard to initiation of a criminal case for issue of currency notes by one of Russian banks.
According to Oksana Tokareva, early in December 2003 the defendant told her that within the framework of a journalist investigation she had obtained information discrediting Ms. Tokareva. Yulia Pelekhova threatened to forward the information to the Russian General Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Security Service, and make it public in a number of mass media, stated Oksana Tokareva.
According to the businesswoman, the reporter suggested that she should pay $150,000 in exchange to her refusal to publish the discrediting materials.
As was mentioned in the court, following long negotiations early in January 2004 Oksana Tokareva and Yulia Pelekhova signed an agreement, according to which the businesswoman obliged to pay $100,000 in three transfers to the reporter, and Ms. Pelekhova in her turn obliged to give up the journalist investigation regarding Ms. Tokareva.
On January 16, 2004 Oksana Tokareva applied to the Economic Crimes Department of Moscow. On January 28 the reporter was detained in a Moscow restaurant at the moment of hand-over of $40,000 to her.
On the same day, a criminal case under article "extortion" with regard to the fact was initiated.
On January 30, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow sanctioned Yulia Pelekhova's arrest.
