MOSCOW, December 12 (Itar-Tass) — The family of Anna Politkovskaya -a journalist and an observer of Novaya Gazeta newspaper who fell victim to murder conspiracy, has demanded that court hearings into the case of ex-policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, put on trial on murder charges, be held in a usual order, said Anna Stavitskaya - a lawyer for the family who voiced the family's request at the Moscow city court on Wednesday.
The trial was to have been held in a special order because Pavlyuchenkov admitted his guilt and made a pretrial deal on cooperation with the investigation. After the family filed its petition the criminal case against Pavlyuchenkov will come up in court in a usual order - with all the evidence against the defendant to be proved in court.
The injured side claims that Pavlyuchenkov has not complied with the terms of the deal in part of giving a true name of the person who ordered Politkoskaya's murder, and that he neither gave full information about his own role in the murder conspiracy, the lawyer said. Pavlyuchenkov refused point blank to give the name of his “boss” for fear for his own security, the lawyer added. Besides, some information the defendant reported to the investigation is not trustworthy and contradicts facts established by the investigation, the lawyer said.
A separate investigation into the case against Pavlyuchenkov and court hearings into the case suggested to be held in a special order would have violated the rights of the injured side, the lawyer stressed. The family has asked to return the Pavlyuchenkov case to the prosecutor so as to ensure that its investigation be held together with the investigation the main murder case, the lawyer said.
On Wednesday, the family filed a damages suit against the defendant, demanding ten million roubles in compensation for moral damages.
Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov -the former worker of the Moscow Head Interior department, was charged with murder as a member of a criminal group and illegal weapons possession. A criminal case against Pavlyuchenkov was investigated separately because he made a pretrial deal on cooperation with the investigation.
In summer 2006 Lom-Ali Gaitukayev organized a criminal group with the aim of the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya for a monetary reward he received from a person who had ordered the murder but whose name has not been established. Apart from Pavlyuchenkov, former policeman Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and the Makhmudov brothers were involved in the murder conspiracy.
Gaitukayev gave Pavlyuchenkov 150,000 dollars as a reward for his assistance. Pavlyuchenkov was to provode information about the victim's whereabouts, her daily routine and usual routes. Pavlyuchenkov took advantage of his office position and asked a group of policemen subordinate to him to secretly watch the journalist, the Prosecutor's general office said earlier.
Following Gaitukayev's instructions in August 2006 Pavlyuchenkov got a pistol with a silencer and turned it over to the assassin who actually shot Politkovaskaya.
Pavluyuchenkov fully confessed to turning over the pistol to Rustam Makhmudov and identified the pistol found on the murder scene.
An investigation into a criminal case opened against the other criminals involved in the murder conspiracy against Politkovskaya is over. A criminal case against the culprits who ordered Politkovskaya's murder has been investigated separately.