A municipal court in Doha launched the trial on 12 April of two Russian security-service employees accused of organizing the February car bombing in Qatar that killed former acting Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. The trial was adjourned until May on a request by the defense after both suspects -- identified in Arabic media as Anatolii Belashkov and Vasilii Bokchov -- pleaded not guilty at their hearing. Western media have reported that the two Russians admitted their guilt to Qatari investigators. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement by its intelligence services in the slaying, but conceded that the two suspects work for a Russian security agency and insisted on their release without trial. The Qatari daily \"Al-Raya\" published an article on the eve of the trial that accused Defense Minister Ivanov of personally ordering Yandarbiev\'s assassination. (RFE/RL)