14:15, 4 April 2013

Court leaves defendant in Politkovskaya's murder case in custody

Today, the judicial board on criminal cases of the appeal instance of the Moscow City Court (MCC) has left Rustam Makhmudov, a native of Chechnya, accused of murdering the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in custody.

The court has found the arguments of the advocate, who argued that the detention term of her client had expired; and he should be released.

In the courtroom today the advocate asked to replace Makhmudov's custody for any other, more lenient, freedom restriction measure. The defendant has backed up his advocate and the arguments of the complaint.

Makhmudov will stay at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), as investigators have insisted, arguing that he is accused of committing an especially grave crime; he can escape from the investigation, destroy the evidence and put pressure on the witnesses and victims in the case.

The court has upheld these rationales and dismissed the defence's motion.

Author: Julia Buslavskaya

Source: CK correspondent