Russian court overturns acquittal in murder of Forbes journalist

A new trial will be held in the murder of Paul Klebnikov, the editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, after the country’s Supreme Court overturned an earlier acquittal verdict, a wire service is reporting.

The court, acting on an appeal by prosecutors, ordered a new trial with a new judge, a court spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

The wire story stated, “Two men went on trial on Jan 10 on charges of carrying out the killing on behalf of a Chechen separatist, Khozh-Ahkmed Nukhayev, who was the subject of a critical book written by Klebnikov. But they and another man on trial on related charges were acquitted by a jury on May 5.

“However, close associates of Klebnikov and a section of the Moscow press disputed the official line that the journalist had been murdered on the orders of Nukhayev. They said Klebnikov had been investigating presumed contacts between Russian political officials and Chechen separatists.

“The three suspects had denied the charges in their earlier trial.”

Read more here. A Bloomberg story included this statement: “Today’s decision is a hopeful sign for justice and the rule of law in Russia,” the Klebnikov family said. “It confirms that blatant procedural irregularities took place in the lower courts, and that these cannot be ignored.”