| Aleksei Pichugin, a senior Yukos security official
who is facing double-murder charges, informed prosecutors on 31 July that
he renounces the statements he made under interrogation on 14 July in
connection with the investigation, gazeta.ru reported on 1 August.
Pichugin's move came the same day that the Prosecutor-General's Office
formally rejected his allegations that he had been given psychotropic
drugs while in custody (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 July 2003).
Pichugin's lawyer, Tatyana Akimtseva, appeared at a press conference
on 31 July together with Duma Deputy Aleksei
Melnikov (Yabloko) and Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alekseeva
and announced that she is appealing the prosecutor-general's conclusions
in court. She is asking the court to remove the lead investigator from
the case. Akimtseva said the prosecutors' medical examination of Pichugin
took place without the presence of any representatives of the defense
and that the prosecutors' report did not say when the examination took
place.
Melnikov said he is dissatisfied with the response to his complaint
and intends to send another official letter of inquiry about the matter
to prosecutors and the Federal Security Service.
See also:
YUKOS
Case
| 