The Supreme Court session started as scheduled at 10:00 Moscow time today. The journalists and observers were asked to leave the courtroom right after the court was in session. From the prosecution side a representative of the Prosecutor General Office was present.

Half an hour later, a break was announced. According to the lawyers, the Prosecutor General Office demanded the case to be sent for additional investigation back to the FSB. No written background was given to the court, but the verbal explanation was basically focused on the fact that the quality of the investigation was too low and this was a violation of the rights of the acquitted. In order to ensure that all the Nikitin’s rights are followed by the book, a new investigation is required, according to the Prosecutor General Office.

After a short break the court is in session again. Originally the prosecution demanded to return the case back to the St. Petersburg City Court for reevaluation by another judge.

The Nikitin case was launched by the FSB in October 1995.