18:23, 12 May 2008

General Prosecutor's Office to verify the legality of releasing two figurants in Politkovskaya's case

The General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is going to check up the legality of releasing from custody of two defendants in the criminal case on the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

It has become known today that two out of nine persons accused of murdering journalist Anna Politkovskaya - Galkin and Demelkhanov - have been set free. A native of Chechnya Magomed Demelkhanov was one of the main suspects.

The "Rosbalt" reports with reference to the press service of the Russian State Office of Public Prosecutor that some inspector of the Chief Investigatory Department (CID) of the Investigatory Committee at the Russian Prosecutor's Office passed a statement on May 7 to change, in violation of the existing procedure and without notifying the General Prosecutor's Office, Demelkhanov's freedom restriction measure from custody to recognizance not to leave. Simultaneously it has become known that in April the CID did the same for another convict in the case - Dmitri Grachov.