ECHR to consider Yevgenia Khasis's appeal in lawyer murder case

The European court of human rights has decided to review the complaint by Yevgenia Khasis, convicted in the case over the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. "I received a letter which said the European court had started proceedings in error," Khasis's lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky told Itar-Tass. The convicted woman asked the ECHR to acknowledge violation of her rights under the European conviction, such as the right to fair trial, as well as inhuman and humiliating treatment. Earlier, Agranovsky said the Russian court had not been unbiased, which affected the verdict. "In this connection, we demand from Russia one million euros in compensation," he said. Lawyer of Inter-Republican Bar Moscow Markelov and Novaya Gazeta string correspondent Baburova were shot to death on January 19, 2009. An unidentified gunman attacked Markelov, 34, and Baburova, 25 in Prechistenka Street near the Christ the Savior Cathedral in downtown Moscow. They were returning from a news conference. Baburova, a 5th-year student at the MGU department of journalism, died in hospital. She covered nationalism and neo-nazism. Murder charges were brought against Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis. Tikhonov and Khasis were arrested in November 2009. The suspects denied their guilt. Tikhonov initially admitted his involvement but later disavowed his statements saying he had been under pressure from the investigators. According to the investigators, the motive behind the murder was "intolerance and ideological hate, as well as the hate the suspects felt toward the lawyer's professional activity to protect the rights and freedoms of persons who supported the anti-Nazi ideology." Tikhonov used a 7.65mm Browning to commit the murder. He fired two shots at Markelov and one at Baburova. Markelov died on the spot, and Baburova was rushed to hospital, but her gunshot wound proved lethal. A search in the house of Tikhonov and Khasis on November 3, 2009 found firearms, ammunition and explosive devices. The Prosecutor General's Office said the murder had been committed together with unidentified members of an organized group who shared neo-Nazi and nationalist views. Tikhonov was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Khasis to 18 years. The sentences were based on the verdict by a panel of jurors who said the defendants were guilty and did not deserve clemency. An appeals board for criminal cases under the Russian Supreme Court later upheld the sentence for Khasis. Tikhonov did not appeal.