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Experts refuse to carry out 5th examination in fatal punch case

The trial is expected to resume on September 17

MOSCOW, August 31 (Itar-Tass) — The specialists of the Russian federal center for forensic expert examinations will be unable to carry out another test in the case against athlete Rasul Mirzayev, accused of causing the death of a student by striking him, a lawyer said.

"The specialist of the center actually refused to carry out this expert examination stating that the questions raised by the court are not within their competence," Mirzayev's lawyer Alexei Grebensky said on Thursday.

In his opinion, there are two possible variants of the development of the situation: judge Fedin might stop and announce the arguments of the parties and read the verdict without the fifth expert examination or he might start looking for another center to take on the job."

The lawyer noted that all the questions raised before the experts were precisely or essentially the same as in the four previous expert examinations.

"Four different expert examinations did not detect causal relationship between Mirzayev's punch and the death of Agafonov," Grebensky said.

The trial is expected to resume on September 17.

Mirzayev, 26, a sambo Russian and world champion, is accused of "malicious infliction of grave harm to health which resulted in the victim's death by negligence." If convicted, he might face up to 15 years in prison. The investigator said the punch Mirzayev had thrown at Agafonov caused the latter’s death after a nightclub conflict.

The fatal incident occurred in Brodnikov Pereulok in central Moscow on August 15, 2011. Student Ivan Agafonov was rushed to hospital after a blow struck by Mirzayev near the Garage nightclub and died several days later without regaining consciousness.

"Mirzayev, using professional skills and sport training, deliberately delivered one pointed blow with his left hand in Agafonov's face," according to the case materials.

Several expert examinations were carried out within the case, which showed that the death had been caused by a fall onto asphalt after a powerful blow. Mirzayev turned himself in to police the next day after the incident.

The defendant pleaded not guilty.

During the arguments of the parties prosecutor Yulia Zotova asked the court to soften the charges against Mirzayev. She said the medical expert examination had not found causal relationship between the athlete’s blow and Agafonov's death.

Also, she referred to the testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution and doctors of the hospital where Afgafonov had died. Witnesses said that after the blow, Agafonov said he was feeling OK and that despite the headache, he could move on his own and even refused emergency aid.

The injured parties' defense was indignant at the prosecutor's request. Alexander Agafonov, the father of the diseased, said he was "categorically opposed to the softening of the charges against his son's killer."