Director Evgenia Berkovich fell ill during a court hearing.

The defendant in the "Finist the Bright Falcon" play case was led out of the "aquarium" in handcuffs. Afterward, another defendant in the case was also led out of the courtroom. Svetlana Petriychuk.

As a source from the courtroom told NeMoskva, Eugene An ambulance was called, and the judge adjourned the hearing. According to the lawyers, the time and date will be determined by medical personnel; there's a possibility the case could resume as early as today.

Director Eugene Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk They were arrested on May 5, 2023. They are accused of "justifying terrorism," allegedly contained in the production of the play "Finist the Bright Falcon." The case began in the military court on May 20.

At the last hearing, the actor testified as a defense witness. Benjamin Smekhov: "[The author] openly and persistently warns of the trouble that may lie ahead. This is also present in the fairy tale 'Finist,' when Maryushka and Alyonushka are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of love and to escape danger."

During the interrogation, Berkovich herself also asked the actor a question. She asked whether Smekhov felt the play insulted Russian men. 

“My last name is Smekhov, I can’t take obvious stupidities seriously.. <…> I never had that [feeling]. It's a living, contemporary amalgam of conversations, ideas, and prejudices." — Smekhov answered the question.

Earlier, the court heard other defense witnesses - criticism Tatyana Tikhonovets and theater critic Nikolai PesochinskyAnd also prosecution witnesses — actress Natalia Gorbas, composer Olga Shaidullina, and psychologist Alisa Kolesova, who spoke out in support of Berkovich and Petriychuk.