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Court to mull longer custody in fatal punch case

Mirzayev's lawyers had asked the court to release their client on bail or recognizance

MOSCOW, October 11 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow's Presnya court on Wednesday will consider the investigator's petition to extend custody for world mixed martial arts champion Rasul Mirzayev, accused of delivering a fatal blow to a student.

"The Presnya court of Moscow will consider on October 12 the investigator’s petition to extend custody for Mirzayev," said lawyer Oksana Mikhalkina who represents the interests of the injured party.

Mirzayev's lawyers had asked the court to release their client on bail or recognizance.

Medics earlier told Itar-Tass the investigators had been carrying out a complex and a genetic test within the case.

"The complex expert examination will ascertain the cause of the young man's death. An autopsy found that student Ivan Agafonov, 19, had died of a closed craniocerebral injury, but whether or not he was injured by Mirzayev's blow or by hitting his head off on asphalt depends on the result of the complex expert examination.

The genetic test will ascertain whose blood was found at the scene. The results of the expert examinations are due in about a month.

The incident occurred in Brodnikov Pereulok in central Moscow on August 13. Student Ivan Agafonov was rushed to hospital and died several days later without regaining consciousness. The investigators learned from media reports that Mirzayev was the attacker.

The all Russia Sambo Federation said Rasul Mirzayev had been disqualified.

"Athlete Rasul Mirzayev has been disqualified by decision of the all-Russia Sambo Federation and withdrawn from training for the world combat sambo championship in Vilnius on November 10-14," the Federation said.

Mirzayev's lawyers said the student had died not from the blow but because he hit his head on the asphalt as he fell. In that event, the charges should be changed from malicious infliction of grave harm to health resulting in negligent death (which envisions up to 15 years in prison) to causing negligent death which is punished by up to two years in jail.

Mirzayev's lawyer Igor Dergachyov denied the reports that his client has multi-million contracts. He said the defence was ready to pass to the investigator or the court Mirzayev's foreign travel passport which had no valid visas at present.

He also claimed that it was Agafonov who had provoked the conflict and started the fight.

On August 22, Moscow's Zamoskvorechye court released Mirzayev on a 5-million-rouble bail, but the Moscow City court overturned the ruling the next day, before the money was transferred to the court's deposit account and ordered the Zamoskvorechye court to reconsider the measure of restraint.

The court then met the investigator's petition to sanction Mirzayev's arrest.

Judge Yulia Novichkova said the athlete was not living at the place of registration in Dagestan and that he had a foreign travel passport.

"He might escape or put pressure on witnesses, or obstruct the investigation in some other way," Novichkova said.

The court also took into account the fact that having unarmed combat skills and clear advantage over the victim, he used his skills.