04 December 2008, 11:45
Secret witness speaks at Politkovskaya's murder process
At the Moscow Regional Military Court, where the trial on the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya continues, a hidden witness has stated today that one of the defendants - Sergey Hadjikurbanov - was going to gather data on the journalist. However, the defendants' advocates have stated that the witness knows nothing particular about the murder.
"The witness has evidenced that Hadjikurbanov had told him about his intention to gather data about Politkovskaya," said Anna Stavitskaya, who is representing the suffered party.
At the same time, the defendants' advocates told journalists that the hidden witness knew no particular facts about the murder. "The witness who is under the witness protection program has told nothing confidential to the court," advocate Valery Chernikov said.
Another advocate Murad Musaev has also emphasized that the witness gave no valuable information to the court. "Nothing just confidential, but nothing at all. He knows nothing about the murder," the ITAR-TASS quotes Mr Musaev as saying.
Today's session of the court is closed. The "Gazeta.Ru" reports that earlier Judge Evgeniy Zubov had decided that all the sessions considering proofs and documents containing state secrets would be held in the closed regime.
