The rector of Kazan Federal University in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, Ilshat Gafurov, who was also a regional lawmaker until his arrest in December, has been remanded in a detention center in Moscow on a murder charge.

The Basmanny district court in the Russian capital on July 19 extended Gafurov's pretrial arrest until at least October 25.

Gafurov was detained in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan, in December 2021, and transferred to Moscow.

Investigators say Gafurov is suspected of ordering the murder of lawmaker Ainar Israfilov in 1999 in the city of Yelabuga. Gafurov was mayor of the Tatar city at the time.

Gafurov, 60, has run Kazan Federal University, one of Russia's oldest universities, since 2010.

With reporting by Business-Online and TASS