Zenit Fan Killed in Brutal Attack
Published: March 27, 2013 (Issue # 1752)
St. Petersburg’s Kuibyshevsky district court has remanded Ilya Khubayev, who is suspected of having caused a fatal injury to a FC Zenit soccer fan, into pre-trial custody, the news website Fontanka.ru reported Sunday.
Yevgeny Dmitriev, known as Maresh, 28, died March 14 after three weeks in a coma following the incident on February 24.
Anton Zharuk, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the suspect was a professional athlete and a master of martial arts. According to the plaintiffs, Dmitriev and Khubayev came into conflict after their shoulders accidentally collided in the street. Dmitriev was subsequently taken to hospital with a severe head injury. Police detained Khubayev on March 22.
Khubayev was defended by at least five lawyers at his first court appearance, who insisted that their client was not guilty and that the evidence was insubstantial. The lawyers also said that the identification of the suspect was in doubt, as the crime had been committed after dark.
Before the pre-trail hearing, about 200 soccer fans gathered in front of the court. However, after the lawyers informed the fans of the court’s decision on the arrest, the fans calmly dispersed.
Dmitriev was buried March 21. About 500 Zenit fans came to the cemetery to pay their last respects to him.