MOSCOW, September 9 (RAPSI) – The Anna Politkovskaya murder trial was postponed until Tuesday when key witness Dmitry Pavlucenkov had an epileptic seizure in the courtroom, RAPSI reports from court Monday.
The Moscow City Court on Monday started questioning Pavluchenkov. The ex-police officer earlier struck a plea bargain with investigators, agreeing to testify against his alleged accomplices, and received a mitigated sentence of 11 years in prison. According to the prosecution, Pavluchenkov was tasked with locating Politkovskaya, and following her during her daily routines.
Novaya Gazeta newspaper journalist Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Her murder has been linked by some experts to her coverage of human rights abuses in Chechnya.
The five suspects include former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Rustam, Ibragim, and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and their uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev.
The investigators believe that Rustam Makhmudov committed the murder with the help of his brothers Ibragim and Dzhabrail, their uncle, and Khadzhikurbanov.