Dismissal of Russia's Probed Khabarovsk Territory Governor Not Yet Decided - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin has nor yet made a decision on whether to dismiss Khabarovsk Territory Governor Sergey Furgal, currently under investigation over suspected murder, but the region cannot remain without a governor long, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Furgal was detained on July 9 as part of a probe into an organized criminal group involved in killings of two businessmen in Russia's Khabarovsk Territory and Amur Region from 2004-2005. Furgal's detention sparked protests in the Khabarovsk Territory, where, according to the Russian Interior Ministry's regional branch, up to 12,000 people attended an unauthorized rally last Saturday.

"With regard to the acting governor, you know that the president has not made a decision yet.

Of course, he will be guided by the analysis of incoming information from investigators as the Furgal case probe proceeds," Peskov said at a briefing, adding that the region "certainly cannot remain without an acting leader long."

According to the spokesman, Putin receives information from "multiple sources" and will make the decision "with consideration of all actualities" in making the decision, if any, to replace Furgal.

Furgal, from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, has been the Khabarovsk Territory's governor since 2018 when he won the regional election with over 69 percent of vote in the runoff.