MOSCOW, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Supreme Court said Monday it has scheduled a hearing on an appeal against the acquittal of three people accused of murdering Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov, for October 31.
On May 5, a jury acquitted Fail Sadretdinov and two co-defendants, Chechens Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev, of Klebnikov's 2004 killing.
Prosecutors in the case appealed to the Russian Supreme Court to cancel the jury's not guilty verdict, claiming the hearings violated the Criminal Code.
Klebnikov had worked for Forbes since 1989 and gained a reputation for investigating murky post-Soviet business dealings and corruption. He became the first editor of Forbes Russia when it was launched in April 2004.
Sadretdinov also faces other charges besides those in the Klebnikov case. A week after he was acquitted, the notary was re-arrested and charged with fraud while registering an apartment deal in 2002. Investigators said Sadretdinov used a forged will to take possession of an apartment in Moscow.
Prosecutors in the case also allege that Sadretdinov and his gang are linked to the murder of former Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Yan Sergunin, and an attack on entrepreneur Alexei Pichugin, who was seriously wounded last June.
