14:59, 30 June 2004

Qatari court sentences 2 Russians to life

A Qatari court has found two Russians guilty of masterminding the assassination of former Chechen separatist president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and sentenced them to life on Wednesday. Justice Ibrahim an-Nisf said the defendants were "following orders." Defense lawyers insisted on the defendants' innocence, while the Qatari prosecution authorities had asked for the death penalty. Three Russian citizens who were on mission at the Russian Embassy to Qatar were arrested in Doha on February 19 and charged with involvement in Yandarbiyev's murder. The former Chechen separatist leader's car was blown up in Doha on February 13. One of the detainees was later freed and allowed to return to Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly insisted that "neither Russia nor the Russian citizens detained in Qatar had anything to do with Yandarbiyev's assassination." The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) refrained from commenting on the sentence. "We are not making any comments on this issue," an SVR spokesman said.

Source: Interfax News Agency