Russian prosecutors claim the driver of the snowplow which crashed with Total CEO Christophe de Margerie’s jet was drunk. His lawyer, however, says he was completely sober, due to a heart condition preventing him from drinking.
“My client is suffering from an acute heart condition; he does not drink at all and his relatives and friends can testify to that,” Aleksandr Karabanov, the lawyer, said.
“He was sober at the time of the crash,” he also said, adding that a number of lawyers will be involved in Martynenkov’s defense.
“We don’t want the blame for the accident to fall on an ordinary man,” he added.
Karabanov also made clear that he will insist on an independent expertise to determine the presence of alcohol in his client's bloodstream.