MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court refused Thursday to drop a case against a notary who was earlier acquitted of murdering Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov, a lawyer said.
On May 5, a jury acquitted Fail Sadretdinov and two other defendants, Chechens Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev, of Klebnikov's killing in 2004, but the notary was re-arrested and charged a week later with fraud while registering an apartment deal in 2002. Investigators said Sadretdinov had used a forged will to take possession of an apartment in Moscow.
Sadretdinov's lawyer Ruslan Koblev said the court had also ignored a petition to release their client from custody for health reasons.
Preliminary hearings will continue Friday, he said.
