DUBAI // Lawyers for two men sentenced to life in prison for their part in the assassination of the Chechen warlord Sulim Yamadayev have asked an appeals court to provide them with forensic and ballistic reports and to track the travel records of two police witnesses. An Iranian, M H, and a Tajik national, M A, both 37, were convicted last month of aiding and abetting the premeditated murder of Mr Yamadayev and of possessing the gold-plated 9mm Stechkin APS handgun believed to have been used to kill him. M H denied the charges before the Dubai Court of Appeals yesterday, while M A did not appear.
Defence lawyers also asked the court to provide images of the weapons used in the crime after claiming they had yet to receive them. In addition, they requested the travel documents of two police officers and asked the court to locate them so their testimony could be re-heard, saying their statements should be struck from the record if they did not appear. Mr Yamadayev, the third member of his family to be assassinated, was shot dead in a basement car park at Jumeirah Beach Residence on March 28 last year.
amustafa@thenational.ae
