MOSCOW, December 24 – RAPSI. The Moscow City Court will hear a classified witness who has been called in for questioning on December 27 in the case of former Colonel Yuri Budanov's murder, the court spokesperson told the Russian Legal Information Agency on Monday.

Murat Musayev, a lawyer for Yusup Temerkhanov, who has been accused of killing Budanov, doubts the mysterious witness actually exists. The lawyer also expressed doubts as to the existence of six other witnesses in the case. Although Musayev stated that these other witnesses should also be questioned, the court dismissed his request. The court also dismissed the defense’s application to grant jurors access to written evidence that the attorney believes could prove that Temerkhanov is innocent. “However, the defense’s task is to refute the primary evidence in the case – the hoody that the murderer allegedly wore,” Musayev said, claiming that a hoody similar to the one allegedly worn by the murderer was bought by investigators and left in Temerkhanov's apartment. 

Investigators believe Temerkhanov decided to commit murder after his father was killed in Chechnya in 2000. He allegedly decided on Budanov as his future 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 Kungayeva's kidnapping and murder. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and deprived of his 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 in central Moscow