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Lawyer of former serviceman asks to re-investigate murder case

The lawyer of former interior troops serviceman Sergei Arakcheyev

MOSCOW, November 10 (Itar-Tass) — The lawyer of former interior troops serviceman Sergei Arakcheyev, sentenced for the murder of three Chechnya residents, will file a statement with the Prosecutor General's Office later this week asking to reopen the investigation.

"We plan to ask the prosecutor's office to resume the investigation into the criminal case because of new circumstances," lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky told Itar-Tass.

The reasons for the request to reopen the probe is the polygraph test results showing that Arakcheyev is innocent.

Also, Agranovsky said he would complain in November to the Supreme Court against the verdict for his client Arakcheyev and Yevgeny Khudyakov, another defendant in the case.

"Our petition is also at the European court of human rights, but it has not made any decisions on it yet," he added.

On Wednesday, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered to examine Arakcheyev's case. The president underlined that it is "a judicial issue requiring legal means of response."

At a meeting with representatives of network communities, the head of state acknowledged that he was unaware of the details of Arakcheyev's case. "But I've heard about it, because there's been polemics around this figure on the Internet, and views were absolutely opposite.

"I suggest not discussing it now; because it is a judicial issue; very fine, requiring legal means of response. I'll issue an instruction to return to this issue, examine it," Medvedev said.

A court has reviewed the case against officers Arakcheyev and Khudyakov three times. A jury acquitted them twice, but the military panel of the Supreme Court overturned the verdict and sent the case for re-investigation.

In December 2007, professional judges found the servicemen guilty of kidnapping and illegal captivity of a person, and the murder of three construction firm employees. They were sentenced to 15 and 17 years in prison, respectively.

Khudyakov, who was not present during the reading of the verdict, is still at large and on a wanted list. Arakcheyev is serving a sentence in a maximum security penal colony.

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