The Hindu : International / Globescan : Russia seeks release of nationals

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Friday, Jul 02, 2004

International

International - Globescan

Russia seeks release of nationals

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Russia will seek the release of its nationals convicted in Qatar of killing a Chechen separatist leader. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, denied two Russian secret service agents had been involved in the assassination of the former Chechen President, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, in Qatar last February. "Moscow still maintains that the two Russian citizens detained in Qatar had nothing to do with the killing of Yandarbiyev," Mr. Lavrov said in Jakarta, Indonesia. "We will continue to work for the early return of the Russians to their country." The two Russians were sentenced to life imprisonment by a criminal court in Qatar on Wednesday. Mr. Yandarbiyev, who lived in Qatar since fleeing Russia after the start of a second Chechen war in 1999, was killed by a car bomb on the way home from a mosque. The convicted Russians had initially admitted to killing, but later told the court the admission had been obtained under torture. The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Russian lawyers would appeal against the court's ruling. The lawyers working for the accused said they would also seek the transfer of their clients to Russia to serve the sentence.

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