At trial in case of Anna Politkovskaya's murder, key witness claims being pressed by law enforcers

Maxim Chervonya Ogly, one of the key witnesses in the case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's murder, who retracted his testimony on Tuesday, claimed that he had given them under threats coming from law enforcers.

According to the witness, in recent months, he was four times visited by FSB agents. They wanted him to give testimony at the trial against the defendants in the case of Anna Politkovskaya's murder, and threatened to initiate a criminal case against him, the newspaper "Izvestia" reports.

Murad Musaev, an advocate of the defendants, has announced his intention to file a complaint against the falsification of evidence and accused investigators of pressuring the witnesses, the "Ekho Moskvy" (Echo of Moscow) reports.

Meanwhile, Anna Stavitskaya, a representative of the victims, believes that earlier, witness Maxim Chervonya Ogly gave truthful testimony.

"Probably, out of some motives, he has now decided to give different testimony and retract earlier one. However, it is obvious that 13 interrogation reports, which were drawn from his statements and which led to understanding of many episodes in the case of the Anna Politkovskaya's murder, have been more truthful," Anna Stavitskaya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.