The investigation believes that the alleged organizer of the mass brawl with shooting at the Khovanskoye cemetery is the former director of the cemetery, Yuri Chabuev, said the official representative of the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin.

Former director of the Khovansky cemetery Yuri Chabuev during the consideration of the issue of arrest in the Presnensky court, May 16, 2016 (Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS)

The investigation considers the former director of the Khovansky cemetery, Yuri Chabuev, to be the organizer of the mass brawl with shooting that occurred there on May 14. This is stated in a statement by the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR), Vladimir Markin, which was published on the agency’s website.

“In the near future, the court will consider the investigation’s request to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for the alleged organizer of the conflict, Yuri Chabuev,” Markin said.

According to him, more than 200 defendants were questioned as part of the criminal investigation, but in order to establish all the circumstances of the incident, the help of eyewitnesses is necessary. Of particular value, according to Markin, are videos taken on mobile phones and video recorders.

that Chabuev allegedly could have been the direct initiator of Earlier, an Interfax source close to the investigation reported the mass brawl at the Khovanskoye cemetery. However, the assistant to the head of the ICR Moscow department, Alexander Nikitin, in a conversation with RIA Novosti, refused to confirm this information.

A mass brawl with shooting, which killed three people and injured more than 30, occurred at the Khovanskoye cemetery on May 14. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, most of the participants in the fight were from Central Asia and natives of the North Caucasus. According to cemetery workers, representatives of the ethnic group demanded money from them for the opportunity to continue working.

The director of the Khovansky cemetery was fired, and on May 16 it became known about his arrest . On Monday, the court was unable to make a decision on Chabuev’s arrest and extended his detention until May 18.

Chabuev is charged with hooliganism, illegal weapons trafficking and murder. According to the investigator, who asked to place the ex-director of the cemetery under arrest, his guilt is confirmed by the testimony of witnesses who allegedly saw Chabuev in the cemetery during the fight.

Chabuev’s lawyer, in turn, said that his client “tried in every possible way to prevent the fight.” Chabuev himself does not admit his guilt.

The Investigative Committee named the organizer of the fight at the Khovanskoye cemetery