CBCnews
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share
 

Charges laid in 2006 killing of admired Russian reporter

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 9:38 AM ET

Anna Politkovskaya was fatally shot in October 2006. Anna Politkovskaya was fatally shot in October 2006. (Lehtikuva, Marja Airio/Associated Press)

Prosecutors in Russia filed formal charges Wednesday against three men accused of involvement in the killing of crusading investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.

A fourth man, a federal police officer, who has been in custody since last August in connection with the killing, was charged with abuse of office and extortion, but prosecutors say those charges are in connection with other crimes.

The officer had earlier been accused of giving Politkovskaya's address to the man who allegedly killed her, but the charge sheet released by Russia's Investigative Committee makes no reference to that.

A fifth man named by authorities in Moscow last month as the person who actually shot Politkovskaya remains at large. He is the brother of one of the men charged Wednesday.

Colleagues believe her killing was linked to her work reporting on abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya, and three of the four men charged Wednesday are Chechens.

No explanation of death

The Investigative Committee statement gave no reason or motive for the attack on Politkovskaya in her central Moscow apartment building in October 2006.

Human rights groups and organizations that work for the protection of journalists say her killers may have been close to the government of then Russian president, Vladimir Putin,

Politkovskaya's colleagues at the Novaya Gazeta newspapers accused authorities of deliberately undermining the investigation by releasing details about the case before it reaches trial.

Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov said Wednesday that leaks from investigators allowed the accused shooter to escape arrest, the Interfax news agency reported. Muratov called it too early to consider the murder solved.

Russian officials have alleged that Politkovskaya's killing was ordered by someone living outside Russia with the aim of discrediting the Kremlin — statements that have been interpreted as alluding to Boris Berezovsky, a former ally of Putin's who lives in London and is now a fierce Kremlin critic.

Berezovsky is wanted in Russia on embezzlement and other charges, all of which he denies and says are politically motivated.

He has said he had nothing to do with Politkovskaya's death.

Death damages Russia, Putin

Politkovskaya's work for Novaya Gazeta won her many awards, and she faced several unsuccessful attempts on her life before her murder.

On the day of her funeral in Moscow in 2006, Putin said her killing inflicted far more damage on Russia than her investigative work into abuse of office by his government's officials and security forces.

At least 12 other journalists have been killed in Russia in recent years, human rights groups say.

With files from the Associated Press
  •  
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share
 
 

World Headlines

Sri Lankan parliament dissolved
Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has dissolved parliament, setting the stage for new elections a day after authorities arrested Gen. Sarath Fonseka, his chief rival and the leader of the opposition.
Avalanches near Afghan capital kill over 60
Avalanches in a mountain pass north of Kabul have killed at least 60 people, injured about 400 and left 1,500 stranded on blocked roads, Afghan officials say.
Haitian man pulled from rubble Video
A 28-year-old man has been pulled from rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, claiming to have been trapped there since the massive earthquake on Jan. 12.
Taliban town in NATO crosshairs
U.S. forces, backed up by Afghan army troops and their Canadian trainers, began a preliminary operation Tuesday in advance of an expected offensive to take the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan.
Honda recalls 378,000 cars for airbag defect
Honda Motor Co. is adding more than 378,000 cars to a safety recall for airbag inflation problems.

People who read this also read …

Top CBCNews.ca Headlines

Headlines

Trenton colonel's charges spur cold case review Video
The 2001 slaying of a Nova Scotia woman at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario is among the cases being re-examined after murder charges were laid against Col. Russell Williams.
Health costs push Alberta budget deficit to $4.75B Video
Alberta's Progressive Conservative government is projecting a record $4.75-billion budget deficit and planning cuts in many departments while increasing health-care spending.
Ottawa to appeal injection site ruling Video
The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.
Haitian man pulled from rubble Video
A 28-year-old man has been pulled from rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, claiming to have been trapped there since the massive earthquake on Jan. 12.
Tories need plan for isotope shortage: Ignatieff
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused the Conservative government of having no plan of action to deal with a medical isotope shortage expected to worsen later this month.