'missing' lawyer

A WIDOW fighting to prove her husband was murdered in Russia has been dealt another blow in her quest for justice.

Jan Edwards has lost touch with her most vital Moscow contact - and now fears for her safety.

Human rights' lawyer Karina Moskalenko had been keeping Mrs Edwards informed of the reopened police investigation into the death her husband Dave.

The 50-year-old British Gas contractor was mown down by a police car in St Petersburg in 1994.

But for the past two months Mrs Edwards hasn't heard from the young lawyer.

Instead Mrs Edwards has just been told illness and a family bereavement have forced Miss Moskalenko to take time off work.

"I find that suspicious," she said.

Calls to Moscow have been answered by a Russian who hangs up at the mention of Miss Moskalenko's name.

The news has dealt a devastating blow to Mrs Edwards' efforts to find out the latest details about the reopened investigation into her husband's death.

Amnesty International have supplied Mrs Edwards with new human rights workers in St Petersburg and Moscow.

But she fears they know nothing of the case, don't speak English and could jeopardise next month's plans to reopen a British inquest.

On Monday, a spokesman for Amnesty International said fears that Miss Moskalenko had disappeared were 'extreme'.

But she said she would investigate through the organisation's Moscow contacts.

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