21:58, 20 November 2013

In Moscow, at trial in case of Ruslan Akhtakhanov's murder, defendant Zelimkhan Kerimov refuses to testify

Savyolovo District Court of Moscow. Photo: www.mosgorsud.ru.

Today, Zelimkhan Kerimov, the defendant in the case of the murder of the Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov, has refused to testify at the Savyolovo Court of Moscow.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ruslan Akhtakhanov, Pro-Rector of the Modern Humanitarian Academy and a member of the Union of Writers of Russia, who spoke for preservation of Chechnya within Russia and the secular development of the republic, was killed on November 16, 2011.

"I fear for my family. Power agents in masks beat me to 'kick out' a confession. I refuse to give testimony and refer to Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to which I have the right not to testify," Zelimkhan Kerimov has said.

Mairbek Umaev, the second defendant, has stated that he was not involved in the murder. However, he has noted that he owned the Ford Focus car, in which, according to investigators, the persons who killed the poet fled from the venue.

Author: Yuliya Buslavskaya

Source: CK correspondent