A court in Moscow has extended the pretrial detention of the former rector of the Kazan Federal University in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, Ilshat Gafurov, who was also a regional lawmaker until his arrest in December on a murder charge.
The website of the Basmanny district court in the Russian capital said on October 25 that Gafurov's pretrial arrest was prolonged until at least December 21.
Gafurov was detained in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan, in December 2021. He was subsequently transferred to Moscow.
Investigators say Gafurov is suspected of ordering the murder of lawmaker Ainar Israfilov in 1999 in the city of Yelabuga. Gafurov was mayor of the Tatar city at the time.
Gafurov, 61, has run Kazan Federal University, one of Russia's oldest universities, since 2010. He insists he is innocent of all charges.
