MOSCOW, June 14 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - Bolshoi Ballet leading soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, who has been accused of having organized an acid attack against the ballet's artistic director Sergei Filin, has asked the Tagansky District Court for a meeting with the victim, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Friday.

Dmitrichenko told the court that he is innocent and denied having given himself up.

"Ask Zarutsky why he did it," he said. "We are not seeing each other because we are being kept apart. Meanwhile, a man who lost his vision is giving interviews. I would very much like to meet Sergei Filin in person."

Filin suffered third-degree burns to his face and eyes on Jan. 17 when unknown assailants attacked him with what is believed to have been concentrated acid. Shortly after the attack, a Bolshoi Theater spokesperson confirmed that Filin had received various threats.

Filin said the aim of the attack may have been to remove him from his position as artistic director and to destroy the prestigious Moscow ballet company's reputation.

Three men were arrested in March in connection with the attack, including Dmitrichenko, the alleged attacker Yury Zarutsky and driver Andrei Lipatov.

A forensic medical appraisal in May established that the victim has sustained grave bodily injury, which means that, if convicted, the three men face up to 12 years in prison.

Filin is undergoing treatment in Germany and, despite initial fears to the contrary, he is expected to recover his vision.