In this photo taken on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, Vladimir Barsukov, who has been behind bars since 2007 and is serving sentences for murder, extortion, fraud and money laundering, sits in a cage in a court room in St. Petersburg, Russia. The lawyer for an imprisoned Russian organized crime figure says the man has been charged in the 1998 assassination of reformist lawmaker Galina Starovoitova.(AP Photo/Svetlana Kholyavchu)
Republished April 07, 2019 - 3:04 PM
Original Publication Date April 07, 2019 - 8:56 AM
MOSCOW - The lawyer for an imprisoned Russian organized crime figure says the man has been charged in the 1998 assassination of reformist lawmaker Galina Starovoitova.
Starovoitova, a prominent liberal member of the national parliament, was gunned down outside her St. Petersburg residence.
Four people were convicted of taking part in the slaying or organizing it, but who ordered the assassination wasn't determined.
Russian news agencies quoted attorney Konstantin Kuzminikh on Sunday as saying a client of his has also been charged in the killing.
The St. Petersburg news site Fontanka reported that the charged man, Vladimir Barsukov, allegedly expressed a desire for Starovoitova to die.
Barsukov has been behind bars since 2007 and is serving sentences for murder, extortion, fraud and money laundering.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019