Release of Sadretdinov acquitted on the case of Khlebnikov, postponed

The Moscow city court has postponed for unspecified period of time the consideration of release of notary Fail Sadretdinov acquitted earlier on the case of murder of Paul Khlebnikov, chief editor of Forbes Russian version. The case has been returned to the Zamoskvoretski district court of Moscow for rectifying some technical errors.

Today, the Moscow city court is to consider the cassation complaint of the defendant's lawyers against the decision of the Zamoskvoretski district court to issue an arrest warrant. The court, however, returned the case. It is expected that the next hearing will be attended by the defendant himself who asked to be taken to the hearing from the pre-trial prison, reports "Novosti" news agency.

For reference, the Moscow prosecutor's office earlier accused Fail Sadretdinov, Moscow notary, of fraud.

"These are absolutely far-fetched charges - a genuine revenge on the part of the General Prosecutor's Office for the lost case," -lawyer Ruslan Koblev stated earlier. The case is about one fact of fraud with a flat which allegedly took place in 2002 and was committed against a diseased woman who was a Russian citizen. According to Koblev, the new criminal case was initiated by the prosecutor's office on May 6, the day the ruling on Khlebnikov's murder was announced.

Earlier, the Moscow city court acquitted the three persons accused on the case. The General Prosecutor's Office announced that it intended to appeal the acquittal.

Khlebnikov was murdered in Moscow on July 9, 2004. Two Chechens, Musa Vakhaev and Kazbek Dukuzov, and Fail Sadretdinov, Moscow notary, were accused of the murder. According to the investigation opinion, the journalist was murdered by an organized criminal group which included Chechen residents Dukuzov, his brother Magomed Dukuzov, Vakhaev, Magomed Edilsultanov and others. The investigation also claimed that it had established the customer of Khlebnikov's murder - it was Khozh-Akhmed Nuhaev, Chechen resident.