The Moscow trial which could jail media tycoon Alexander Lebedev for up to five years has turned nasty over web taunts from the missing tycoon who he struck during an infamous TV talk show.
Property mogul Sergei Polonsky is not attending court after the judge was told he is unable to leave Cambodia where he was bailed over the alleged kidnapping of sailors, even though there is credible evidence he is actually now enjoying a seaside break in Israel.
Lebedev's supporters fear the TV fisticuffs is being used by powerful elements in Russia as a pretext to jail him in revenge for anti-corruption probes by his newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Rather than face charges for simply hitting out, he is accused of 'hooliganism motivated by political hatred' which carries a far tougher sentence.
When Lebedev, 53, a former KGB spy in London, claimed in a Tweet that 'Polonsky ran away from Cambodia to Israel', his rival shot back: 'Are you scared?'
In other recent volleys, he called Lebedev a 'chukhan' - a dirty homeless person - and also used a word loaded with sexual innuendo about the media owner, a wealthy businessman and banker who bought the Independent titles and London Evening Standard, before handing them over to his son Evgeny.
Polonsky, 40, also taunted Lebedev as a 'double agent', adding threateningly: 'I'm going to get you.'
Instead of airing his views in court, he is using the web - but there was growing evidence that he is no longer in Cambodia, despite court submissions by his legal team to this effect and a Russian news agency report saying he is currently in Phnom Penh for a hospital check-up.
Recent pictures he posted online show him close to a glittering sea rather than landlocked Phnom Penh.
Lebedev has called on bloggers to track down Polonsky so his whereabouts can be brought to the attention of the judge, and is now convinced he is in Israel.
A Russian MP - who gave a personal guarantee to a Cambodian judge that Polonsky would not leave the country - said on Thursday: 'I have information from reliable sources that Polonsky fled from Cambodia.'
Alexei Chapa said: 'He accepted obligations not to leave the country, I vouched for him. This situation is very unpleasant for me.'
He added: 'With his escape, Polonsky dealt a blow to the reputation of both Russia and MPs.'
Even Polonsky's lawyer in Cambodia, Kong Radi, on Thursday told Mail Online: 'I don't know where he is. I am not sure.'
He confirmed his bail conditions did not allow him to leave the country.
The Chapa quotes were carried by Novaya Gazeta and brought a swift response from Polonsky, saying from his mystery hideaway that the Cambodian authorities were 'in shock' over the claims and adding: 'Don't disgrace Russia, Lebyad' - an unsympathetic play on his name. 'Your time is over, people of the KGB.'
In a message to the Novaya Gazeta journalist, he said: 'You work for an enemy of the country - turn ON your brain.'
The trial is due to resume in Moscow tomorrow, when Lebedev's witnesses are expected to start giving evidence.
Lebedev has claimed he hit out during the TV show because he feared Polonsky was poised to hit him. Pictures from the programme went viral on the internet.
