July 9 is the anniversary of the murder of Paul Khlebnikov. The editor-in-chief of the Russian-language version of Forbes magazine was killed in Moscow three years ago. Klebnikov’s family attended a memorial service held at Christ the Saviour cathedral.
The investigators blamed a Chechen criminal group for the murder and three people were charged. However, last May the Moscow City Court cleared them in compliance with the jury's decision. Klebnikov’s family and the Prosecutor General’s office appealed claiming that court procedures were violated. The Russian Supreme Court repealed the verdict and ordered a new investigation last November. Spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Sean McCormack, said in Sunday’s statement that the U.S. government was grateful to Russian authorities for the attention given to the case. He said the U.S. was ready to assist Russia in bringing the criminals to justice.