#5 - JRL 7240
gazeta.ru
June 25, 2003
Police claim Yushenkov's killers arrested

Moscow police said on Wednesday they have solved the murder of the prominent State Duma deputy Sergei Yushenkov. Two people have been detained on suspicion of killing the liberal politician, and, according to Gazeta.Ru sources, one of them has already confessed to the crime.

Law enforcers reported earlier on Wednesday that they had succeeded in solving the murder of the prominent liberal politician, one of the co-founders of the Liberal Russia party, who was killed on April 17 outside his house in Moscow.

Two people suspected of murdering the deputy were taken into custody on Wednesday with the sanction of the Basmannyi court of Moscow, Interfax news agency reported, citing its sources in law enforcement agencies. The sources refused to disclose the names of the detainees.

Officials have neither confirmed nor refuted the information. Representatives of the Prosecutor-General’s Office refused to comment to Gazeta.Ru on the reports, saying they have no information on the case. The press-service of Moscow’s Main Police Directorate told Gazeta.Ru that they heard of the detention of two Yushenkov murder suspects, but as yet, they have no details.

Furthermore, according to RIA-Novosti news agency, the chairperson of the Basmannyi court on Wednesday refuted the report that she had allegedly issued a warrant to arrest murder suspects in the Yushenkov case.

According to Gazeta.Ru sources in Liberal Russia, they do not have any details concerning the detention of the murder suspects. ''However, it is absolutely true, that the murderers have been detained, and one of them has already confessed to the act,'' they said.

According to the source, the suspects were not arrested in or near Moscow, but in some other region. Liberal Russia representatives have promised to find out all the details of the detention to keep Gazeta.Ru informed.

Sergei Yushenkov, a State Duma deputy, and one of the co-founders of the Liberal Russia party, was shot dead in broad daylight on April 17 near the entrance to his house in a suburb of Moscow. The 52-year-old deputy was gunned down at around 1840 after he got out of his chauffeur-driven car. Most of the country’s politicians denounced the attack on Yushenkov, saying it was politically motivated. Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov took personal charge of the investigation.

Shortly after the deputy’s murder Moscow operatives detained the first suspect, 20-year-old Artyom Stefanov, who, investigators claimed could have murdered the deputy for personal reasons. However, the young man was discharged shortly after his alibi was confirmed.