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Moscow Court Orders House Arrest For Detained Airport Owner


Domodedovo Airport owner Dmitry Kamenshchik looks out from a defendants cage during a court hearing in Moscow on February 19.
Domodedovo Airport owner Dmitry Kamenshchik looks out from a defendants cage during a court hearing in Moscow on February 19.

A Moscow court has ordered the owner of Russia's largest airport to be put under house arrest, amid an unusual public disagreement between investigators and prosecutors about the case.

Dmitry Kamenshchik, the owner of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, was detained on February 18, accused by the national Investigative Committee of failing to meet safety requirements.

The committee said those alleged lapses allowed a suicide bombing in January 2011 inside the airport that killed 37 people. Chechen rebels claimed responsibility.

Government prosecutors, however, have called the accusations unfounded and argued against the committee's request for house arrest.

The Basmanny court agreed with the committee on February 19, confining Kamenshchik, 47, to house arrest as the case proceeds.

Russia media have speculated the fight indicates a behind-the-scenes struggle by business interests to take control of the airport, which Kamenshchik helped transform into a shining, bustling operation.

With reporting by AP and Interfax
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