The court postponed the selection of jury in the case of the murder of Paul Khlebnikov due to the failure of the accused

The Moscow City Court postponed the selection of a jury on March 14 in the case of the murder of the editor of the Russian version of the Forbes magazine Paul Khlebnikov at the second consideration of this case today. According to ITAR-TASS, the press secretary of the court Anna Usacheva, "the meeting was postponed in connection with the non-appearance of the accused, but the court did not consider it necessary to apply any sanctions to them."

In turn, the lawyers of Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhaev reported that their clients did not come to court for good reason today. "Vakhaev is at the place of his permanent registration in Moscow, he could not come to the court in connection with the disease," one of the participants in the process reported. The interlocutor emphasized that Kazbek Dukuzov is currently in Chechnya for family reasons, but he will participate in the trial.

Speaking of a second trial, the family of the deceased believes that "the new court allows us to hope that Russian justice will be able to correct violations committed during the first process." At the same time, the victims advocate the openness of the trial. “We ask that the future and all subsequent meetings in the case be open to the public,” they said.

In turn, the lawyers of the defendants do not doubt the victory. “If necessary, we will prove the innocence of our clients on the third and fourth time,” the defenders emphasized.

The 41-year-old Paul Khlebnikov was shot in Moscow on July 9, 2004. The charges of a crime was brought by two natives of Chechnya Kazbek Dukuzov and Muse Vakhaev. In the case, the metropolitan notary Fail Sadretdinov also took place. Three more people, including Kozh-Ahmed Nukhaev, whom the investigation considers the customer of the murder, are put on the wanted list. The detainees also incriminated involvement in the murder of the former deputy chairman of the government of the Chechen Republic Yana Sergunin and the attempt on the life of entrepreneur Alexei Pichugin. However, in May 2006, the jury fully justified the defendants in the Moscow City Court.

The Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the verdict in the Supreme Court and in November last year the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation canceled the acquittal and sent the case for a new consideration.