Quoting a judicial source, Reuters said testimonies of 13 prosecution witnesses were heard during Sunday's closed court session.

Yandarbiyev's widow attended the hearing. "I have come to see the faces of the men who killed my husband," she was quoted as saying. The widow also added that she would like the hearing to be open to the public.

Former Chechen leader Zelimkhan 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, Alexander Fetisov, who had diplomatic immunity. He returned to Russia on March 24.

The other two Russians were indicted on February 26. They pleaded not guilty at a preliminary court hearing. Hearings were adjourned on April 11 at the request of defense lawyers, who demanded access to all case materials and asked for additional time to prepare for the trial.