MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti)-The selection of a jury to hear one of the most high-profile court cases of 2006, the trial of three ethnic Chechen accused of murdering Forbes magazine editor Paul Klebnikov, has received a mixed reaction, a leading Russian business daily said Friday.
According to Kommersant, the selection of eight women in the 12-member panel, who were picked behind closed doors in the Moscow City Court Thursday, was welcomed by the journalist's family but criticized by defense lawyers.
Klebnikov's family issued a statement welcoming the court's choice and expressing hope the masterminds of the murder would be brought to justice along with the contract killers, the paper said. But the team defending Kazbek Dukuzov, Musa Vakhayev and Fail Sadretdinov expressed serious doubts the jurors would be able to provide an unbiased trial.
"Out of 46 candidates, 12 were selected and four are in reserve," the paper quoted attorney Pyotr Sursky, who is representing Sadretdinov, as saying. "But it is hard to judge their impartiality, as we were unable to ask them any questions of interest to the defense. For example, one candidate said that he was the head of a security unit, but we could not obtain any clarification as to what that meant."
Klebnikov, who investigated murky post-Soviet business dealings and corruption, was gunned down in Moscow in July 2004. Prosecutors claim he was killed on the orders of Chechen businessman Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, who sought revenge for a critical book Conversations with a Barbarian, featuring him as the main protagonist, Kommersant said.
Jury hearings on the Klebnikov case are due to begin January 10, 2006, according to the paper.
