MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - The term of pre-trial confinement for Russians detained in Qatar on suspicion of being involved in the murder of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, a Chechen separatist leader, has been extended for one more month, the lawyer company "Yegorov, Puginsky, Afanasyev and Partners" told RIA Novosti.
"This is the decision that a Qatar judge took at the court hearing today in Doha. Russian nationals have officially stated before the court of their being not guilty of the crime they are accused of. A relevant note was made in the protocol of the court session," says the lawyer company's statement.
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was killed in Doha on February 13, 2004. On suspicion of involvement in the murder of the Chechen separatist leader, Qatar authorities detained three Russians, one of whom was later released and returned home. The Russian foreign ministry said the Russian nationals were not guilty and demanded that they be released.
