MOSCOW, December 12 (Itar-Tass) —— On Wednesday, the Moscow city court has turned down a plea, made by the family of journalist Anna Politkovskaya,after the family asked the court to hold hearings into the Politkovskaya murder case in an ordinary regime.
State Prosecutor Gulchekhra Ibragimova told the court that one of the episodes during the trial should be held in a regime closed for the mass media. A number of documents which contain information about the defendant's place of residence, his health as well as his references should be announced in a closed regime, the state prosecutor said. The defendant and his lawyer backed the state prosecutor.
The judge, Alexander Zamashnyuk, declared that the above-mentioned documents were stamped "confidential" and ruled to satisfy the prosecutor's demand. The judge explained that the law envisages that if a defendant makes a pretrial deal on cooperation with the investigation court hearings into a criminal case against such a defendant are to be held separately and in a special order. The law envisages no compulsory consent of the injured party, the judge specified. The court began merit hearings into the case.
On Wednesday morning the family of Anna Politkovskaya insisted that court hearings into the case of ex-policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, put on trial on murder charges, should 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 injured party claimed that Pavlyuchenkov did not comply with the terms of the deal in part of giving a true name of the person who had ordered Politkovskaya'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 was not trustworthy and contradicted facts established by the investigation, the lawyer said.
A separate investigation into the case against Pavlyuchenkov and court hearings into the case held in a special order violate the rights of the injured side, the lawyer stressed. 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 for murder, committed by a group of criminals on preliminary conspiracy against Politkovskaya, 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 was not established. Apart from Pavlyuchenkov, former policeman Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and the three Makhmudov brothers were involved in the murder conspiracy.
Gaitukayev gave Pavlyuchenkov 150,000 dollars as a reward for his assistance. Pavlyuchenkov was to inform Gaitukayev 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 victim. Following Gaitukayev's instructions in August 2006 Pavlyuchenkov got a pistol with a silencer and turned it over to the assassin who actually shot Politkovskaya.
Pavlyuchenkov 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.