URGENT: Defendant in Politkovskaya case backs down on testimony

MOSCOW, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - A former Federal Security Service officer charged with revealing the address of journalist Anna Politkovskaya to her suspected killers has backed down on his earlier testimony, claiming he was under pressure.

When asked by a prosecutor during a court session on Thursday whether anyone had approached him for the investigative journalist's address in the fall of 2006, Pavel Ryaguzov replied in the negative.

Ryaguzov denied he had twice provided people suspected of involvement in the murder with the details of Politkovskaya's place of residence.