Russian Lawmaker Shot Dead in Moscow

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 18, 2003

Russian Lawmaker Shot Dead in Moscow

Russian Duma member Sergei Yushenkov, a key figure in the Liberal Russia party, was shot deadin Moscow on Thursday evening.

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Russian Duma member Sergei Yushenkov, a key figure in the Liberal Russia party, was shot dead in Moscow on Thursday evening.

Yushenkov was killed outside his house adjacent to the district administration office in Tushino in northwest Moscow, at about 18:50 Moscow time, Interfax news agency reported.

Policemen working at the crime scene said that an unidentified individual opened fire with a silencer-equipped pistol as Yushenkov was getting out of his car near the apartment building where he lived. He sustained three gunshot wounds on the back and died on the spot.

The assailant dropped the pistol and fled. He may have had an accomplice waiting for him in a car nearby, according to the policemen.

The pistol was found next to Yushenkov's body, said Vladimir Gordiyenko, Chief of the Interior Ministry's main criminal investigation department.

Boris Zolotukhin, co-chairman of the Liberal Russia party, said he was shocked by Yushenkov's gundown.

"We cannot understand who could benefit from the death of our comrade or who contracted the murder. Sergei Yushenkov was an open politician. He conducted his political struggle openly, gallantly,if you wish. He did not have any personal enemies," Zolotukhin was cited as saying.

State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov, who is outraged at the crime, believes that the murder was politically motivated and considers it as a challenge to the society, because the crime was committed on a day when the Liberal Russia party completed its registration procedure with the Justice Ministry.

Viktor Pokhmelkin, a Liberal Russia co-chairman, revealed that Sergei Yushenkov "was an honest man and was not involved in any business. But he had a hard-line position on all important issues.Although he had no personal enemies, there were a lot of political opponents," but he declined to suggest who might be responsible for the crime.

However Mikhail Grishankov, deputy chief of the Duma's security committee, disagreed with the opinion that Yushenkov was killed for political motivation.

"There are no politically motivated crimes in our country. Money plays a role in all such crimes," he remarked, adding that "in Russia, no one is killed because of his principles."

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