Concertgoer Defends RANDY BLYTHE, Says 'Choking' Photos Are Not What They Appear To Be

According to WTVR.com, a concertgoer whom LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe admitted to pushing off the stage during the show in Prague that resulted in a fan's death took the stand earlier today (Wednesday, February 6) in the singer's ongoing manslaughter trial to refute many of the claims that were made yesterday by the alleged victim's friends.

Blythe is facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a May 2010 incident in which a fan, Daniel Nosek, who attended a LAMB OF GOD performance, died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage.

Contrary to the statements made in court by Nosek's friends, Blythe did not appear to be overly aggressive and he was "not choking" Milan Poránek, as witnesses claimed and photos suggested. Milan said in his testimony in front of the three presiding judges (there are no jury trials in the Czech Republic),"It may have appeared this way, but that isn't what was happening."

Milan, who called himself an "active member of the audience," added: "I wanted to stagedive and Blythe pulled me to the ground and held me there as I was very drunk. He did it because of the way I acted, and he was justified in doing so."

A female fan who watched the LAMB OF GOD show from the back of the Abaton club took the stand and stated: "Heavy metal bands are always trying to look angry on stage. What happened did not look serious at all."

Former members of the production team at Club Abaton said in statements that they were unaware of any incident taking place the night in question. They were only told about the alleged incident after speaking to the police one month later.

Tomás Fiala, the promoter from Obscure Promotions, said LAMB OF GOD had made security demands in their tour rider but did not complain about safety issues before or after the concert. Three security guards were assigned that night, according to Fiala, and the band requested in their tour rider that barriers should be 1.5 meters from the stage, a requirement which wasn't met.

The first expert witness for the defense was an ophthalmologist, who confirmed Blythe was short-sighted and couldn't see distant objects.

Since Blythe doesn't wear glasses during gigs, his vision on stage is very limited and he likely only would "only have been able to recognize silhouettes" from 1-2 meters away at the Prague concert, the expert testified.

Also taking the stand earlier today was a medical expert, Michal Pogosi, who said Nosek died from pneumonia resulting from his head injury (a blow to the brain stem).

While all of Nosek's friends said Blythe pushed Nosek off the stage, their versions of the events of that night included some slight contradictions.

According to WTVR.com, one of Nosek's friends said Blythe was off of the stage when Nosek climbed up and that the singer ran from backstage to push the fan off. Other witnesses did not mention that.

Many of the witnesses struggled to recall the events of that concert nearly three years ago.

The trial is expected to last until the end of the week.

The parents of Daniel Nosek are demanding compensation of 10 million Czech Koruna (approximately $530,000).

Blythe was imprisoned for five weeks in the Czech Republic after being detained on June 27, 2012 when the Grammy-nominated, Richmond, Virginia-based band arrived there for a show.

The singer was freed without charge in August but had to post $400,000 bail, then left the country, vowing to return for the trial.