MOSCOW, June 27 (RAPSI) - Russian and foreign celebrities, a British clergyman and a retired officer of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service have appealed to the Ostanskinsky District Court not to judge banker Alexander Lebedev harshly, RAPSI reports from the court.

Lebedev is on trial for punching businessman Sergei Polonsky during the filming of a talk show on the NTV TV channel.

The initial charges against Lebedev were made last September, more than a year after he punched Polonsky. The scuffle ensued after Polonsky accused Lebedev of spreading a rumor about a crack in the Moscow City skyscraper that his firm was building.

Lebedev has been accused of hooliganism and battery.

He has not admitted his guilt and said the charges are unsubstantiated.

Stephen Fry said he had seen the video online and believes it is not something that should be punished harshly.

John Malkovich asked the court to show leniency toward Lebedev, to view the punch as an unguarded act in response to a flagrant provocation, and to release Lebedev so that he can continue his good work.

Testimonials read out in the court were provided by Keira Knightley, Elton John, Hugh Grant, Kevin Spacey, Sting, Rev. John Hall from Westminster Abbey, Russian actresses Liya Akhedzhakova and Chulpan Khamatova and other celebrities.

Poet Dmitry Bykov provided a testimonial in verse, in which he says that Lebedev was "partly right" to hit Polonsky. 

Major General Yury Kobaladze, a retired officer of the Foreign Intelligence Service, described Lebedev as "an intelligent and good-mannered man."

Polonsky, who is on Russia's wanted list over an alleged property fraud in Moscow, has not given evidence in person at the trial. 

Lebedev, 52, is the co-owner of the opposition Novaya Gazeta newspaper and the owner of The Independent. He has also supported a program to raise funds for opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption project RosPil. He has made repeated claims of a government persecution campaign against his business, a charge the authorities deny.

Last December, Polonsky himself ended up in another fracas in Cambodia, when he and two other Russians allegedly attacked local sailors during an outing off the Cambodian coast. The sailors later dropped their charges.

The three men were arrested on December 31 and remained in the custody of the Cambodian police. On April 3, Polonsky was released from the Cambodian prison but was restricted from leaving the country.

However, he is believed to have moved to Israel.