Lawyer Claims Russian Politician Behind Anna Politkovskaya Murder

A defence lawyer involved in the trial of three men accused in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya has today claimed court documents suggest a Russian politician was behind the assassination.

As the hearing was reopened to the media today, Murad Musayev claimed court documents indicated that the unnamed politician was behind the order to kill Politkovskaya, Associated Press reported.

The trial, which began last week, was adjourned after two days by judge Yevgeny Zubov, who said jurors had concerns about the presence of the media.

He said the hearing would be adjourned for 10 days, but called the jury back a week early to discuss “a string of procedural issues” and has now said the press will be allowed in to cover the trial.

Last week the judge ruled that the trial at Moscow’s district military court would be closed, overturning an earlier ruling that it should be held in public. He cited jurors’ fears that the publicity could put them at risk.

Politkovskaya, a high-profile investigative journalist who had reported on Russian human rights abuses in Chechnya, was murdered in her Moscow home in 2006.

Her family demanded that the trial was conducted in public and said officials were trying to cover up the crime by refusing access to media.

Two Chechen brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, are charged with conducting surveillance on Politkovskaya. Former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov is accused of assisting the two men.

The case is being heard in a military court because a fourth defendant, Pavel Ryaguzov, is an officer in the security services.

He is accused of criminal links with Khadzhikurbanov, the former police officer, but he has not been charged in relation to Politkovskaya’s killing.

– By Jemima Kiss and agencies

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