Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said the Russians were “in court, and the court will tell them what they should say”. The Minister said he did not know whether the court would take into account a recently passed law introducing the death penalty for terrorist activities. Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani also did not say when the legal proceedings had started.

Yanderbiyev was killed in a car bombing in Doha in mid-February. On February 19, Qatari authorities arrested three Russian citizens on suspicion of involvement in the assassination. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the men, who were on a business trip to the Russian Embassy in Qatar, were intelligence officers, and they were carrying out information and analytical activities connected with the fight against international terrorism. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, they had nothing to do with the killing of Yanderbiyev. Qatari authorities released one of the arrested Russians, who had diplomatic immunity. The other two Russians were indicted on February 26.