Moscow - Elderly Man on Trial Charged With "Hooliganism"

Moscow - A 70-year old Jew is being charged with "hooliganism" after shooting an attacker in self-defense.

Anatoly Vaysman, a journalist, got out of his car near a Moscow store in January 2005 when he heard someone shouting at him "Stop, you kike!". He turned around to see a middle aged man charging at him. The man allegedly gave him a hard shove to the chest and then reached into his pocket, possibly for a weapon. Mr. Vaysman took out a gas-powered pistol (a non-lethal weapon commonly used in Russia for self-defense) and shot his assailant. The alleged assailant was lightly wounded in the neck and filed a complaint against Mr. Vaysman with the local police.

Moscow prosecutors are aggressively pursuing the case, according to Mr. Vaysman's lawyer, who said that his client had been placed on a watch list three times, even though he had no intention of leaving the city before his trial.