Defendant in Anna Politkovskaya's murder case to stay in custody till July 7

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has refused to change the pre-trial restriction for Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, ex-officer of the Moscow GUVD (Chief Interior Department), accused of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta", to the house arrest. According to the court's decision, the period of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov's arrest has been extended till July 7.

Thus, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov's motion to change the pre-trial restriction from custody to house arrest was dismissed.

Karen Nersesyan, the lawyer of the defendant, told the Court that his client had concluded a deal with investigators, and that fact spoke of his wish to cooperate, and that he was not going to hide anywhere. Besides, the lawyer has reported that Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov is seriously ill. "I want my client to go to trial alive and healthy, and this is practically impossible in conditions of the detention facility," the "Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information" quotes Karen Nersesyan as saying.

In their turn, the investigator and the prosecutor asked the Court to dismiss the Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov's motion, since, according to them, "under the milder pre-trial restriction, the defendant may flee, taking advantage of his operational skills."

After having listened to the arguments of the parties and considered the evidence submitted, the Court found no grounds to grant the motion, the "ITAR-TASS" reports.

After the court session, the Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov's lawyer stated that he did not agree with the Court's decision and would challenge it at the Moscow City Court.