DRUG TRIAL OPENS FOR U.S. SCHOLAR

Russian Prosecutor Says Evidence Tainted

VORONEZH, Russia -- An American Fulbright scholar accused of dealing drugs
in Russia pleaded innocent yesterday as his trial opened with the
prosecutor contesting police evidence.

An investigator testified that she made up the amount of marijuana found on
John Tobin for a police report. The prosecutor accused police of greatly
inflating the amount and said she was "ashamed" to be involved in the case.

Tobin, 24, of Ridgefield, Conn., was arrested Jan. 26 outside a nightclub
after police allegedly found him carrying a matchbox containing marijuana.
The arrest attracted wide attention about a month later when the Federal
Security Service claimed Tobin was an aspiring spy.

No espionage charges have been filed against Tobin, who was a student at
Voronezh State University. But the drug charges, initially for possessing a
small amount of marijuana, later were stepped up to include distribution.
The most serious charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years.

The prosecution says Tobin and his roommate, also an American studying at
the university, ran a drug den in their apartment.

Police investigator Yelena Brykina, who wrote Tobin's arrest record, said
police told her only that Tobin had been found with more than 0.003 ounces
of marijuana and that she made up the figure of 0.005 ounces that she wrote
in the arrest record.

"I just pulled this weight out of the air," she said.

However, the charges say that 10 times that amount -- 0.05 ounces -- was
found on Tobin when he was arrested, and prosecutor Marina Galagan accused
the senior police investigator of doctoring the amount in the case file.

"I am ashamed to sit here and support the charges in this case," she said.