ICRF refuses to terminate agreement between investigators and defendant accused of Anna Politkovskaya's murder

The Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) found no grounds for termination of the agreement between Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, accused of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and investigators. This was reported today by Anna Stavitskaya, the lawyer of the family members of the deceased journalist.

The lawyer has reported receiving from the ICRF the decision to dismiss the motion of the victims. The decision claims absence of grounds for termination of the agreement of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov with investigators. Meanwhile, the document states that the motion of the victims is to be considered by Viktor Grin, Deputy General Prosecutor o the Russian Federation, at the approval of the indictment.

"At present, we are waiting for the Viktor Grin's decision on the issue, whether he will approve the agreement or not," Anna Stavitskaya said. She has emphasized that, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor should verify fulfilment of terms of the agreement with the investigators; then, in the absence of complaints, the case is to be sent to the court for consideration in a special manner. The court also verifies the lawfulness of the agreement, the "RAPSI" (Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information) quotes the lawyer as saying.

According to Ilya Politkovsky, the Anna Politkovskaya's son, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov is one of the organizers of the murder, and he has not told all that he knows.

"He downplayed his role, and he only briefly mentioned the name of the customer. We believe that if you conclude an agreement, you should tell everything about your role and everything that you know. Meanwhile, we do not in any way question the testimony of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov with respect to other members of the grouping. His testimony is complete with respect to the role in committing the crime of some defendants, and it coincides with the testimonies of other witnesses," the Radio "Liberty" quotes Ilya Politkovsky as saying.