Suspect of organizing Politkovskaya's murder arrested by court

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has sanctioned the arrest of former militia officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a suspected (by the investigation) organizer of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta".

Pavlyuchenkov was detained on August 23; and now the court has satisfied the inspectors' motion asking to put him behind bars. The arrest will last till October 23.

Judge Arthur Karpov has noted, when announcing the decision, that Pavlyuchenkov, being keen in operative-investigatory actions, may – with the aim to escape punishment – hinder the inquiry, press the witnesses, flee abroad or use other methods to obstruct the investigation.

"Any more lenient freedom restriction measure is impossible, since it does not exclude a chance to escape inquiry," reads the ruling of the Basmanny Court. The latter also took into account Pavlyuchenkov's extensive contacts within the law enforcement system, the ITAR-TASS reports.

Tamara Kuchma, Pavlyuchenkov's advocate, said at the session that her client was present at commission of the crime; however, "not on his own will but under instruction of his division." According to her story, Pavlyuchenkov suffers from epileptic attacks and cannot be placed in jail for medical indications.

In his turn, the judge has concluded that Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov's health condition allows him to stay at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), where he can receive, if necessary, all the necessary medical care.

The suspect himself did not object to his arrest, leaving the issue to the discretion of the court, the "Interfax" reports.