Policeman Held in Slaying

Jan. 15, 2010

A Moscow police lieutenant colonel admitted on Thursday to killing the driver of a snowplow that scratched his car last month but said it was an accident, Interfax reported Thursday.

The police officer, Anatoly Maurin, 39, was detained Thursday and charged in the death of driver Vladimir Demidov, a 60-year-old native of Tula, the Investigative Committee said.

Investigators said Maurin, who occupied a senior post in the Interior Ministry’s department for the Central Federal District, shot Demidov with a pellet gun, wounding him in the knee, after the snowplow scratched Maurin’s Nissan sedan in southern Moscow on Dec. 26. Demidov bled to death on the spot.

Maurin told investigators that he fired the gun accidentally, Interfax reported. If convicted in the death, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

(MT)

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue