MOSCOW, November 16 - RAPSI. The Moscow City Court will hold a public jury trial for the case of Yusup Temerkhanov, who is accused of murdering ex-Colonel Yuri Budanov in June 2011, Murad Musayev, the defendant's attorney, told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

He said that during the preliminary hearings, judge Andrei Korotkov upheld the defendant's motion to be tried by a jury.

Investigators believe that Temerkhanov decided to commit the murder after his father was killed in Chechnya in 2000. He settled on Budanov as his victim, as he was widely known for kidnapping and murdering Chechen Elza Kungayeva in 2000.

In July 2003, Budanov was convicted of war crimes in Chechnya. A military court found him guilty of abuse of power in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Chechen Elza Kungayeva. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and deprived of his military rank, state awards and the opportunity to hold official positions for three years after his release. In January 2009 he was released on parole.

Budanov was shot dead in June 2011 as he walked out of a notary office on Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow. Investigators reported that he was shot by Temerkhanov eight times.

Yusup Temerkhanov, who was previously known as Magomed Suleimanov, has been charged with aggravated murder and weapons possession in connection with the death of Budanov.