Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday denied the involvement of two Russian citizens in the killing in Qatar of a Chechen rebel leader. "Moscow's position is still that the two Russian citizens detained in Qatar had nothing to do with the attack on (Zelimkhan) Yandarbiyev," Lavrov said in Indonesia.
Two Russians were earlier convicted by a Qatar court of Yandarbiyev's killing in the Gulf state last February and sentenced to life imprisonment. Lavrov, whose comments in Indonesia to journalists were distributed by the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow, said Russian lawyers would appeal against the court's ruling.
"We will continue to work for the early return of the Russian nationals to their country," Lavrov added. A group of defence lawyers working for the accused said in a statement that the case against their clients had not been proven. "The defence intends to appeal," the statement said, referring to what it said were blatant violations of international and Qatari law.