[JURIST] Moscow City Court has rejected a bid by a surviving member of the Russian Romanov imperial dynasty to declare Tsar Nicholas II [Wikipedia profile] exonerated of the Soviet-era criminal charge against him and declare his 1918 murder at the hands of revolutionary Bolsheviks a political killing. A lower court had ruled similarly, and the Moscow City Court Friday supported its decision to remand the case to the Russian Prosecutor General's office, which has said it has insufficient evidence to proceed. The court also said any exoneration should be made in the course of criminal, not civil proceedings.

Grand Duchess Maria Romanov [Wikipedia profile], currently living in Spain, brought the case on behalf of her branch of the family. Nicholas II, the Tsarina Alexandra, their five children and several household servants were executed without trial [eyewitness account] near Yekaterinburg in 1918. Nicholas' remains were reburied with honors at St. Petersburg in 1998. Reuters has more. RIA Novosti has local coverage.