MOSCOW, February 27 - RAPSI. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who was sentenced to 11 years for his involvement in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, has provided new information about the killings of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov in 2004 and of Alexei Sidorov, editor of a newspaper in Togliatti, a city in southern Russia, in 2003, Kommersant writes on Wednesday.

According to Kommersant, Pavlyuchenkov told the Investigative Committee that Sidorov may have been murdered by the criminal group that was also involved in the murder of Klebnikov.

Pavlyuchenkov claims to know two members of the Lazanskaya group controlled by Chechen criminal boss Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who is believed to have organized Politkovskaya's murder.

These two men may also be implicated in Sidorov's murder. Pavlyuchenkov claims they told him in 2003 that they were "ordered to punish a journalist" in Togliatti.

It is also thought that members of this group were following Klebnikov, the newspaper writes, citing Pavlyuchenkov.

Kommersant sources say the police are investigating the possibility that the Lazanskaya group may have been involved in Klebnikov's murder.

The paper is still trying to receive an official comment.

Alexei Sidorov was killed in the evening of October 9, 2003 near the porch of his residential block in Togliatti. He was struck by a knife-like weapon, possibly a shiv, 15 times and died before the ambulance arrived.

Klebnikov was shot on July 9, 2004 when walking out of his editorial building in Moscow. The two men who shot him escaped. Klebnikov died from his four bullet wounds on the way to hospital, after saying that he did not know who attacked him.

Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a confessed accomplice in the Anna Politkovskaya murder case, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Moscow City Court in December 2012.
Politkovskaya, a journalist for the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was shot dead in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Her murder is believed to be linked to her groundbreaking coverage of human rights abuses in Chechnya. She was also a passionate critic of the Kremlin.

In total, six people are suspected of involvement in her murder. The other five suspects are in custody and will be tried separately. Lom-Ali Gaitukayev is accused of having organized the murder and of having hired three of his relatives to help him, the Makhmudov brothers Rustam, Ibragim and Dzhabrail, as well as a former police official, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.