MOSCOW, June 10 (RAPSI) - The lawyers of Alexei Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov, who have been charged with embezzling from the Kirovles timber company, have filed a motion to dismiss Leninsky Court Judge Sergei Blinov.

Lawyer Svetlana Davydova read out the motion in the Leninsky District Court of Kirov on Monday.

The lawyers claim that the judge deliberately acted in contravention of federal legislation, in particular the adversarial principle, and did not notify witnesses about criminal liability for refusing to testify.

According to the investigators, Navalny organized the theft of over 10,000 cubic meters of timber while serving as a voluntary adviser to the Kirov Region governor.

The timber was allegedly stolen from Kirovles between May and September 2009 in collusion with Ofitserov, the director of the Vyatka Timber Company, and Kirovles CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov. The regional budget shortfall resulting from the transaction has been estimated at 16 million rubles ($510,906).

If convicted, Navalny and Ofitserov face up to 10 years in prison. They will also be ineligible for any kind of civil service, even if they only receive probation.

Opalyov, who made an agreement with the prosecution, has received a four-year suspended sentence.