Four Charged As Politkovskaya Murder Inquiry Ends

Four men have been charged in connection with the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, investigators said Wednesday, but her former editor complained the case was far from solved.

“Three suspects have been charged with the murder of the journalist: Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov,” the Investigations Committee said in a statement announcing the end of the high-profile murder inquiry.

A fourth man, Pavel Ryaguzov, an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB, has been charged with abuse of power and extortion in connection with the inquiry, the statement said.

But the suspected gunman, Rustam Makhmudov, remains at large, a spokeswoman for the committee said, addding that the case is now expected to go to trial but giving no further details about motives or circumstances of the murder.

Murad Musayev, a lawyer for one of the men, said his client would request a trial by jury and called the investigators’ decision to release four other men arrested in the inquiry a “rarity,” RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The 2006 murder of Politkovskaya prompted international outrage, with accusations from around the world that Russian authorities were at best failing to protect the country’s few remaining independent journalists.

The editor of Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper where Politkovskaya worked, said the investigation was far from complete considering that neither the person who ordered the contract murder nor the killer had been found.

“The case has not been solved…. This announcement does not satisfy the newsroom or members of Anna Politkovskaya’s family. We insist that this case is followed through,” Dmitry Muratov was quoted as saying by the Gazeta.ru daily.

Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) echoed their reservations, describing the conclusion of the investigation as premature.

“It would be outrageous if the investigators did not go any further, as they still have not identified who gave the orders for the murder.”

RSF called for the inquiry to resume once the suspects had been tried.

Politkovskaya made her name writing about human rights abuses in Chechnya and was a leading critic of former president Vladimir Putin, who oversaw a brutal campaign by Russian troops and is now prime minister.

The award-winning journalist was shot dead, apparently by a lone killer, as she was getting into a lift in her apartment building in central Moscow on October 7, 2006 in what police immediately said was a contract murder.

Asked about the killing just days after it happened, Putin minimised Politkovskaya’s role and said the murder had probably been organised by fugitives from Russian justice who wanted to discredit the country.

Russian media interpreted his comments as hinting at the involvement of Boris Berezovsky, a once highly influential Russian tycoon wanted on fraud charges in Russia and who has been granted political asylum in Britain.

Berezovsky has denied any involvement and accused the Kremlin of the crime.

Former colleagues have said they suspect Politkovskaya was murdered in connection with a report she was preparing into alleged torture in Chechnya.

Russian prosecutors said last year that 10 people had been detained in connection with the murder. Several suspects have been released since then.

The Investigations Committee spokeswoman said that all charges have been dropped against a former Chechen local government official and Moscow businessman, Shamil Burayev, who was arrested earlier in the investigation.

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