MOSCOW, December 25 (RAPSI) - Former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov has been suspected of pressure against Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a key witness for the prosecution in the Anna Politkovskaya murder case, Izvestia daily reported Wednesday.

According to lawyer Alexei Mikhalchik, Khadzhikurbanov has been put in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center's security housing unit. He is considered to be the organizer of the threats directed against Pavlyuchenkov.

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.

On November 14, the Moscow City Court disbanded the jury in the Anna Politkovskaya murder trial, setting a new round of jury selection for January 14.

The five suspects include 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.

Pavlyuchenkov earlier pleaded guilty to charges connected with the murder of Politkovskaya. He signed a plea bargain, gave evidence against his accomplices and was sentenced to 11 years in December 2012.