Brother Of Murdered Russian Lawyer Says Arrests Coming Soon

MOSCOW -- Former Russian Duma deputy Mikhail Markelov says the people responsible for his brother's assassination will soon be arrested, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Markelov told RFE/RL on October 27 that the people who ordered and organized the murder of Stanislav Markelov -- a leading human rights lawyer -- are connected with organizations in Russia and abroad.

Mikhail Markelov said he has conducted an investigation parallel to the official one and his conclusions are the same as those made in the formal investigation.

He said he knows the names of "the individuals involved in the murder and their whereabouts" and added that all of this data is kept in a file in a Western bank.

Stanislav Markelov was killed along with "Novaya Gazeta" journalist Anastasia Baburova in downtown Moscow in January after a press conference regarding criminal cases in the North Caucasus.

Markelov said he thinks his brother's murder has no connection to North Caucasus issues.