Paul Klebnikov murder trial to open Dec.6

(Adds details)

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - Three people suspected of the murder of the journalist Paul Klebnikov, editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, will go on trial on December 6, the lawyer of one of the defendants said Thursday.

"Preliminary hearings have been scheduled for next Tuesday," Lema Umarov said, adding that the defendants had asked for a jury trial.

Klebnikov, 41, was gunned down in Moscow in July 2004 in one of Russia's highest-profile murders. Shortly before his death, Forbes had published a list of Russia's wealthiest people.

The Moscow City Court has also kept in force the timeframe set for examining the case for Fail Sadretdinov, a Moscow-based notary who will also face trial.

Sadretdinov's defense attorney Ruslan Koblev said the decision to try his client by jury had been made at the request of his client, who does not think a professional court would be able to ensure a fair trial for him or the other defendants.

Sadretdinov is charged with ordering the attempted murder of businessman Alexei Pichugin, and will face trial along with other two defendants, Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakayev.

Investigators say the latter are members of a Moscow-based organized crime group set up by ethnic Chechens in 2002, and also linked to the assassination of former Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Yan Sergunin, and the attempted murder of Pichugin.

The prosecutors' report also said Klebnikov's murder had been contracted by Chechen resident Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev.