12 October 2006, 19:27
Preliminary hearing on the "Ulman's case" put off again
The North Caucasus military district has put off the preliminary hearing of the fourth trial on the case of the special task force of federal troops under the command of captain Eduard Ulman accused of killing six Chechen civilians. The next hearing will be held on October 24. The preliminary hearing has been postponed in connection with the illness of lawyer Natalia Dziuba, the court reports.
While commenting on the judicial prospects of the defendants, Roman Krzhechkovskiy, Ulman's lawyer, has stated before journalists: "I do not expect anything good. If the case is considered by a single judge or by a panel of three judges, a sufficiently severe sentence may be expected." In her turn, Liudmila Tikhomirova, victims' lawyer, has expressed her conviction that "the defendants' guilt is proved by the case file," reports "Interfax". "The continuous postponement of hearings is intentional, it is being initiated both by the victims and their lawyers," says Tikhomirova. Krzhechkovskiy responds that it is "a simple set of circumstances."
