Court session in Qatar breaks till May 2

The court hearings of the Russians' case in Qatar has broken for an interval till May 2, said Ilya Levitov, spokesman for the lawyers' bureau Yegorov, Puginsky, Afanasyev and Partners. Lawyers of this bureau represent the interests of the Russians at the hearings in Qatar.

The court sessions, which lasted from Monday to Wednesday, heard the 13 witnesses for the prosecution. They were interrogated by both the Russians' lawyers headed by a Qatar lawyer and prosecutors.

Three Russian citizens who were on a business trip in Qatar were arrested early on February 19 by Qatari special services. They are accused of involvement in the murder of a Chechen separatist leader Zelimkhan Yandarbieyv, whose car was blown up in Doha on February 13.

One of the detainees, first secretary of the Russian embassy in Qatar Alexander Fetisov was later released and returned home on March 24.

The Russian foreign ministry has repeatedly denied the charges, and insisted that they be released.

On February 26, the two Russians were officially accused of premeditated murder. At the preliminary court session on April 11, the Russians pleaded not guilty.