MOSCOW, August 22 – RAPSI. Yusup-Khadzhi Temirkhanov, who is suspected of having killed Yuri Budanov, a former Russian colonel convicted on Chechen war crimes charges, resisted cooperating with a police search thus provoking the police to use force against him, the Interior Ministry’s Moscow Department told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

Earlier, Murad Musayev, Temirkhanov's lawyer, said that his client has been severaly beaten by a guard en route to a petition hearing to extend his custody at the Moscow City Court.

The court cannot confirm the information, as it has yet to receive the results of the defendant's medical examination. According to the court, the hearing has been postponed until tomorrow.

Budanov was convicted of having committed war crimes in Chechnya. In July 2003, a military court found him guilty of abuse of power in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Chechen Elza Kungayeva. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and deprived of his military rank, state awards and the opportunity to hold official positions for three years after his release. Budanov’s request to be released on parole was fulfilled in December 2008. He was released from prison in January 2009, and was shot dead shortly thereafter in Moscow in June 2010.

Temirkhanov has been charged with aggravated murder and weapons possession in connection with the death of Budanov. While he was originally charged under the name Magomed Suleimanov, he has since changed his name to Yusup-Khadzhi Temirkhanov for some reason.