Russia reopens Czar family execution probe

Russian Prosecutor-General8217;s Office has reopened an investigation into the execution of Russia8217;s last Czar Nicholas II and his family members after archaeologists discovered the remains of his two children

Russian Prosecutor-General8217;s Office has reopened an investigation into the execution of Russia8217;s last Czar Nicholas II and his family members after archaeologists discovered the remains of his two children, Prince Alexei and his elder sister Maria, in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, last month.

Archaeologists exhumed the remains of a boy and a young woman from the ground close to the site where the last Czar, his wife Alexandra and their children 8212; Prince Alexei and four Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia were executed in the Ipatyev house by Bolsheviks in 1918.

Bolsheviks also killed their attendants, including physician Botkin, housemaid Demidova, cook Khatitonov and footman Trupp.

The regional forensic bureau chief Nikolai Nevolin told reporters that remains, including 44 bone fragments, teeth fragments, as well as strips of fabric and bullets, were handed over for examination on August 17, and Russian Prosecutor8217;s-General Office reopened the 1993 case on August 21.

8220;The bone fragments will allow identification of the gender and the relationship of the bodies,8221; Nevolin said, adding the DNA tests will be carried out on the bones, believed to be those of Prince Alexei and Maria.

He said the genetic tests would also reveal whether the boy suffered from haemophilia, a rare hereditary blood disorder that afflicted Prince Alexei, pointing out that the examination may take two months.

Nevolin said archaeologists discovered the place after studying written evidence by Yakov Yurovsky, who led the firing squad.

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He said the Prince and one of the princesses had been burnt and buried in a place away from the other nine bodies of the murdered Romanovs and their aides in a bid to cover up the scene.

Archaeologist Sergei Pogorelov told Russian television station that bullets found at the burial site indicate the children had been shot. He said the newly unearthed bones belonged to two young people: a young male aged roughly 10-13 and a young woman about 18-23.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, parts of the bodies were exhumed. They were verified by experts from Russia, Britain, and the US and buried in St. Peter and Paul8217;s Cathedral in St. Petersburg in 1998, and the investigation was dropped.

But in 2004, the forensic examination results were challenged and flaws in DNA studies, discrepancies between the findings and historical facts and breaches in forensic procedures were reported.

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Alexander Zakatov, a spokesman for the Romanov family said Friday descendants were prepared to aid the identification process, but warned against rushing to conclusions, which was the case in 1998.

The Romanov family and the Russian Orthodox Church have questioned the authenticity of the remains buried in St. Petersburg.