DUSHANBE, July 22, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- The trial of two Tajik nationals of Tajik nationals -- Masrurjon Yatimov and Najmiddin Muhiddinov, charged with killing of a TV Channel One reporter Ilyas Shurpayev, is expected to resume in the Supreme Court today.

We will recall that trial that began on July 18 was adjourned until July 22.  The judge ordered the adjournment after defense lawyers Naim Berdiyev and Odil Yorbekov, representing the defendants, said that they had not managed to familiarize themselves with all four volumes (totaling more than 300 pages) of case materials.  

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, defense lawyer Odil Yorbekov said, “The case has some nuances and it is necessary to study them thoroughly in order to give them correct legal assessment.”  “The point is that at the end of investigation, Yatimov admitted his guilt partially, while Muhiddinov has not pleaded guilty,” said the lawyer, “However, I do not think that the trail process will not be delayed.” 

 The trial is open and journalists are allowed to attend it with permission of judge taking in the trial.  

Justice Shuhrat Azimov takes in the trial and representative of the Prosecutor-General''s Office Azimjon Abduyev is prosecutor in the trial Yatimov and Muhiddinov.  

The trial is held in two languages – Russian and Tajik, because the main case materials collected by investigators from the Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office are in the Russian language.  

Relatives of the killed journalist were invited to attend the trial; however, however, they did not arrive.      

As it had been reported earlier, the case of Masrurjon Yatimov and Najmiddin Muhiddinov, charged with killing of Ilyas Shurpayev, moved to the Supreme Court on June 30.  

We will recall that two Tajik nationals – Masrurjon Yatimov and Najmiddin Muhiddinov – were detained on March 29 on suspicion of having killed a Russian journalist. 

The two men allegedly killed Russian television journalist Ilyas Shurpayev, who was found strangled in his Moscow apartment. Russian firefighters discovered the body of Shurpayev on March 21 when they arrived to extinguish a fire in his apartment that had apparently been set by the killers in an attempt to cover up their crime.  Shurpayev had moved to Moscow from Daghestan, where he worked as a reporter for the Russia''s Channel One television.  The men reportedly tortured Shurpayev before killing him during the night of March 20-21 and stole some 100,000 rubles ($4,260) from him.  Later, Tajik police arrested a third suspect in the killing, Muhiddinov''s brother.

On completion of the preliminary investigation, formal charges were brought against Masrurjon Yatimov, 24, and Najmiddin Muhiddinov, 20, under the provisions of three articles of the Penal Code of Tajikistan – Article 104, Part 2 (murder), Article 249 (robbery) and Article 255 (deliberate property destruction or damage)  

According to specialists, if convicted, Yatimov and Muhiddinov cold face up to 25 years in prison each on these charges.