Anna Politkovskaya assassination
Encyclopedia
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
(born in 1958), the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, took place on Saturday, 7 October 2006. She was well known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
and criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
. She authored several books about the Chechen wars, as well as Putin's Russia
Putin's Russia
Putin's Russia is a non-fiction book by the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya about life in modern Russia.Politkovskaya argues that Russia still has aspects of a police state or mafia state, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. In a review, Angus Macqueen wrote: Politkovskaya describes...
, and received numerous prestigious international awards for her work. Her murder, which occurred on Vladimir Putin's birthday, was widely perceived as a contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
, sparking a strong international reaction.
Background
Politkovskaya's book, Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing DemocracyPutin's Russia
Putin's Russia is a non-fiction book by the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya about life in modern Russia.Politkovskaya argues that Russia still has aspects of a police state or mafia state, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. In a review, Angus Macqueen wrote: Politkovskaya describes...
, strongly criticized Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
's federal presidency, including his pursuit of the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
. She accused Putin and the Russian secret service FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
of stifling all civil liberties in order to establish a Soviet-style dictatorship, but admitted that "it is we who are responsible for Putin's policies":
- "Society has shown limitless apathy... As the ChekistsChekismChekism is a term used by some historians and political scientists to emphasize the omnipotence and omnipresence of secret political police in the Soviet Union and contemporary Russia...
have become entrenched in power, we have let them see our fear, and thereby have only intensified their urge to treat us like cattle. The KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
respects only the strong. The weak it devours. We of all people ought to know that."
She also wrote:
- "We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. All we have left is the internet, where information is still freely available. For the rest, if you want to go on working as a journalist, it's total servility to Putin. Otherwise, it can be death, the bullet, poison, or trial—whatever our special services, Putin's guard dogs, see fit."
"People often tell me that I am a pessimist, that I don't believe in the strength of the Russian people, that I am obsessive in my opposition to Putin and see nothing beyond that," she opens an essay titled Am I Afraid?, finishing it—and the book—with the words: "If anybody thinks they can take comfort from the 'optimistic' forecast, let them do so. It is certainly the easier way, but it is the death sentence for our grandchildren."
Death threats
- In September 2004, while traveling to BeslanBeslanBeslan is a town and the administrative center of Pravoberezhny District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. In terms of population, Beslan is the third largest town in the republic behind Vladikavkaz and Mozdok...
, Russia during the Beslan school hostage crisisBeslan school hostage crisisThe Beslan school hostage crisis of early September 2004 was a three-day hostage-taking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 380...
to help in negotiations with the hostage-takers, Politkovskaya fell violently ill and lost consciousness after drinking tea. She had been reportedly poisonPoisonIn the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ed, with some accusing the former Soviet secret police poison facilityPoison laboratory of the Soviet secret servicesPoison laboratory of the Soviet secret services, alternatively known as Laboratory 1, Laboratory 12, and Kamera which means "The Chamber" in Russian, was a covert research and development facility of the Soviet secret police agencies,which notably also developed antidotes and internal...
.
- In December 2005, while attending a conference on freedom of the press organized by Reporters Without BordersReporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Politkovskaya said: "People sometimes pay with their lives for saying aloud what they think. In fact, one can even get killed for giving me information. I am not the only one in danger. I have examples that prove it." She often received death threats as a result of her work, including being threatened with rape and experiencing a mock executionMock executionA mock execution is a stratagem in which a victim is deliberately but falsely made to feel that his execution or that of another person is imminent or is taking place. It may be staged for an audience or a subject who is made to believe that he is being led to his own execution...
after being arrested by the military in Chechnya.
- According to Russian state security officer Alexander LitvinenkoAlexander LitvinenkoAlexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
, Politkovskaya asked him if her life was in imminent danger before the assassination. He confirmed the danger and recommended her to escape from Russia immediately. He also asserted that former presidential candidate Irina HakamadaIrina HakamadaIrina Mutsuovna Khakamada is a Russian politician who ran in the Russian presidential election, 2004. She is a member of The Other Russia coalition.-Biography:...
warned Politkovskaya about threats to her life coming from Putin. Hakamada later denied her involvement in passing any specific threats, and said that she warned Politkovskaya only in general terms more than a year before her death. It remains unclear whether the warning by Litvinenko was related to an earlier statement made by Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who claimed that former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Boris NemtsovBoris NemtsovBoris Efimovich Nemtsov is a Russian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 1997 to 1998. He was a co-founder of the Russian political party Union of Right Forces and is an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.-Early life:...
received word from Hakamada that Putin threatened her and like-minded colleagues in person. According to Berezovsky, Putin uttered that Hakamada and her colleagues "will take in the head immediately, literally, not figuratively" if they "open the mouth" about the Russian apartment bombingsRussian apartment bombingsThe Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
.
Assassination
On October 7, 2006, Politkovskaya was found shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Police said a Makarov pistol
Makarov PM
The PM is a semi-automatic pistol design. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it became the Soviet Union's standard military side arm from 1951-1991.-Development:...
and four shell casings were found beside her body, unusual because the Makarov PM pistol ejects shell casings 18–20 feet to the rear of the shooter. Reports indicated a contract killing
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
, as she was shot four times, once in the head. It was unclear at the time who ordered the killing.
The funeral was held on Tuesday, 10 October 2006, at 2:30 p.m., at the Troyekurovsky Cemetery. Before Politkovskaya was laid to rest, more than 1,000 people filed past her coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
to pay their last respects. Dozens of Politkovskaya's colleagues, public figures and admirers of her work gathered for the funeral. No high-ranking Russian officials could be seen at the ceremony.
Reaction
The European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and many governments condemned the murder of Politkovskaya, calling for a thorough investigation into the crime by Russian authorities.
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
/Radio Liberty the week before her death in which she said she was a witness in a criminal case against Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
in connection with abductions in Chechnya—a case based on her reporting. In that same interview, she called Kadyrov the "Stalin of our days".
On 8 October 2006, hundreds rallied in downtown Moscow to protest the murder of Politkovskaya and the recent crackdown on ethnic Georgians
2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy
The 2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy began when the Government of Georgia arrested four Russian officers on charges of espionage, on September 27, 2006...
. The demonstration was described by the Moscow-based, liberal radio station Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
as "the largest protest rally of the opposition recently held in Russia." A day after the murder, there was a demonstration and memorial consisting of 500 people in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, as well as 300 people gathering in St. Petersburg. Further rallies and vigils took place in other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Saratov and Krasnoyarsk, as well as London, Paris, New York, and Washington.
In addition, more than 1,000 people (later estimation: more than 3,000) gathered at the Russian embassy in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to pay their respects to Politkovskaya. The demonstration was silent, with people holding candles. Two of Politkovskaya's books have been published in Finland as translated editions.
On 10 October 2006, 2,000 demonstrators called Putin a "murderer" during his visit to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Putin replied:
- "This journalist was indeed a sharp critic of the present Russian authorities...but the degree of her influence over political life in Russia was extremely insignificant. She was well-known in journalistic circles, among human rights activists, in the West. I repeat, her influence over political life in Russian was minimal." And in my opinion murdering such a person certainly does much greater damage from the authorities’ point of view, authorities that she strongly criticized, than her publications ever did."
Possibly related events in the aftermath of her death
Politkovskaya's assassination was discussed by the media in connection with the deaths of other critics of Putin, including her colleague from Novaya Gazeta Yuri ShchekochikhinYuri Shchekochikhin
Yuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin was a Russian investigative journalist, writer, and liberal lawmaker of Russian parliament. Shchekochikhin made his name writing about and campaigning against the influence of organized crime and corruption...
, Russian Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
members Galina Starovoitova
Galina Starovoitova
Galina Vasilyevna Starovoitova was a Russian politician and ethnographer known for her work to protect ethnic minorities and promote democratic reforms in Russia.- Early life and academic career :...
and Sergei Yushenkov
Sergei Yushenkov
Sergei Yushenkov was a liberal Russian politician well known for his uncompromising struggle for democracy, rapid free market economic reforms, and higher human rights standards in Russia...
, and journalist Artyom Borovik
Artyom Borovik
Artyom Genrikhovich Borovik was a prominent Russian journalist and media magnate. He was the son of a Soviet journalist, Genrikh Borovik, who worked for many years as a foreign correspondent in the U.S.-Journalism:...
:
- A week after the assassination, Alexander Litvinenko accused Putin of sanctioning the murder. Two weeks after this statement, Litvinenko was poisoned by the radioactive poloniumAlexander Litvinenko poisoningAlexander Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB, who escaped prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom...
. Two days before his death on November 24, 2006, he wrote a statement, in case he "does not make it". He said:
- "Name the bastard. Anna Politkovskaya did not do it, so I will, for both of us. You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people".
According to some reports, Litvinenko tried to investigate Politkovskaya's death. He was also writing a book about FSB activities including concentration camps in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. In that regard, he had frequent contacts with Politkovskaya. Litvinenko's poisoning was remarkably similar to the thallium
Thallium
Thallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. This soft gray poor metal resembles tin but discolors when exposed to air. The two chemists William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy discovered thallium independently in 1861 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy...
poisoning of KGB defector Nikolai Khokhlov, whom Politkovskaya had interviewed for Novaya Gazeta.
- On November 18, 2006, former pro-government Chechen commander and FSB officer Movladi BaisarovMovladi BaisarovMovladi Baisarov was a Chechen warlord and former Federal Security Service special-task unit commander. Baisarov was shot dead on the street in central Moscow by members of the Chechen extra-agency guard on November 18, 2006.-Career:...
was shot dead in Moscow. Allegedly, Baisarov intended to give evidence that proved his political opponents' guilt of kidnapping and murder, and give testimony about Politkovskaya's assassination. Novaya Gazeta was preparing a publication linking Baisarov's murder with that of Anna Politkovskaya. Journalist Vyacheslav Izmailov, who worked closely with Politkovskaya on her stories about human rights abuseHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
s in Chechnya, said former GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Beslan Gantamirov had come to Novaya Gazeta's offices two weeks after she was murdered and said armed men close to Ramzan Kadyrov had been sent to Moscow with orders to kill three people: Politkovskaya, Baisarov and Gantamirov.
- On November 20, 2006, former KGB officer Oleg GordievskyOleg GordievskyOleg Antonovich Gordievsky , CMG , is a former Colonel of the KGB and KGB Resident-designate and bureau chief in London, who was a secret agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1974 to 1985.-Early career:Oleg Gordievsky attended the Moscow State Institute of International...
asserted that the murders of Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, Yuri ShchekochikhinYuri ShchekochikhinYuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin was a Russian investigative journalist, writer, and liberal lawmaker of Russian parliament. Shchekochikhin made his name writing about and campaigning against the influence of organized crime and corruption...
, Politkovskaya, Litvinenko and others meant that FSB had returned to the old KGB practice of government-ordered political assassinations. Gordievsky was poisoned in November 2007, allegedly by Putin himself.
- On November 24, 2006, the day of Litvinenko's death, Russian economist and politician Yegor GaidarYegor GaidarYegor Timurovich Gaidar was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician and author, and was the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from 15 June 1992 to 14 December 1992....
alleged he was poisoned after drinking a cup of tea.
It still remains unclear who ordered the assassination. Some speculations were fueled by the fact that she was killed on Putin's birthday. Historian Yuri Felshtinsky and political scientist Vladimir Pribylovsky
Vladimir Pribylovsky
Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky is a Russian historian, journalist and human rights advocate opposed to current Russian authorities.-Biography:...
commented that none of the official suspects had personal motives to kill Politkovskaya. This led them to suggest several possible contractors: "the central leadership of the secret service - as a birthday present for Putin" or "Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, also as a birthday present for Putin, in the hopes of receiving a present in return - the presidency of Chechnya (the hope was realized)".
On the other hand Ramzan Kadyrov alleged that oligarch Boris Berezovsky was behind Politkovskaya's killing. "We would need Politkovskaya today to show what she used to say, and what there is now. People arrive and walk freely around Grozny. A normal life! How could our enemies use Politkovskaya effectively? By killing her. Who did it? Berezovsky, I believe," Kadyrov was quoted as saying in April 2009.
First arrests and official announcements
In late August 2007, police arrested ten suspects believed to have been involved in Politkovskaya's murder. Russia's Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika stated that the plotters' aim was to start a crisis to destabilize Russia. The suspects included members of a Chechen organized crime groupChechen mafia
The Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...
, as well as a number of former FSB agents.
On August 28, 2007, Chaika met with Putin and FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
director Nikolai Patrushev, during which he made an official announcement:
- "Our investigation has led us to conclude that only people living abroad could be interested in killing Politkovskaya...Forces interested in de-stabilising the country, in stoking crisis...in discrediting the national leadership, provoking external pressure on the country, could be interested in this crime. Anna Politkovskaya knew who ordered her killing. She met him more than once."
Chaika also said that Politkovskaya's killers were probably connected with the murders of Central Bank deputy chairman Andrei Kozlov
Andrei Kozlov
Andrei Andreyevich Kozlov was the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation from 1997 to 1999 and again in 2002 to 2006....
and U.S. journalist Paul Khlebnikov. The person noted by Chaika as organizer of the murder was identified in the media as Boris Berezovsky. Chaika's statement was supported by Andrei Lugovoi
Andrei Lugovoi
Andrey Konstantinovich Lugovoy is a Russian politician and businessman and deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation for the LDPR. He is a former KGB bodyguard and the ex-head of the security firm "Ninth Wave."...
, who had been indicted by a British court with regard to the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB, who escaped prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom...
. Lugovoi said Berezovsky had organized the murders of Politkovskaya, Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
, and the attempted murder of Yelena Tregubova
Yelena Tregubova
Yelena Viktorovna Tregubova is a Russian journalist, a critic of the president Vladimir Putin and his environment.- Biography :Tregubova studied journalism at Moscow State University in the 1990s...
.
Suspected killer identified
On March 28, 2008, it was reported that the suspected killer of journalist Anna Politkovskaya was identified. The suspect was identified as 30-years old Chechen Rustam Makhmudov, a brother of Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudovs who have been suspected on complicity to the murder.However, on April 3, 2008, Investigating Committee of the Persecution Office of Russia Dmitry Dovgy (suspended of his duty under allegations of taking bribes, though the interview was taken before his suspension) told the press that he is convinced that "Politkovskaya's murder was masterminded by Boris Berezovsky and carried out by Khozh-Ahmed Noukhayev". Dovgy said that the murder was aimed at undermining confidence in law and order in Russia. He said the organizers [of Politkovskaya's murder] "wanted to show that well-known people can be killed here in broad daylight, with the law enforcement agencies seemingly unable to solve such crimes". Berezovsky dismissed the accusations in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio. "This is another attempt to distract the investigation from searching for the real person behind the murder," he said.
On April 4, 2008 Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
reported that all suspects in the case are members of Russian special services, and someone in the government protects the killers by openly disclosing the secret materials of the investigation. The report discussed the involvement of Nukayev who allegedly also organized the assassination of Paul Khlebnikov. According to this publication, the traces of the killers lead to the gang of Maxim Lazovsky
Maxim Lazovsky
Maxim Yuryevich Lazovsky was a former KGB and FSB officer who became involved in underground business. According to Alexander Litvinenko and co-authors he was also suspected of participation in Russian apartment bombings in 1999, along with other crimes including murders and kidnappings.Maxim...
, a former FSB officer who allegedly organized a bombing in Moscow in 1994, and was later involved in the 1999 Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
.
On June 18, 2008, the investigating committee at the Moscow prosecutor general's office announced that the preliminary investigation was concluded, and three people, Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov and Ibragim Makhmudov, were set to stand trial for murder. Another suspect, Pavel Ryaguzov, has been charged with lesser offenses, including abuse of office and extortion. Colleagues who were close to Politkovskaya at Novaya Gazeta say the mystery is far from over however. Deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta magazine, Sergey Sokolov said: "The investigation is finished in regards to only the three people in question. But as for other people involved - the ones who have been identified and those who are still to be identified, like the killer and the person who ordered the murder - they are set apart into a separate group. The investigation will be continued."
Russian prosecutors said their investigation against Rustam Makhmudov, who a month ago they alleged shot Politkovskaya, was ongoing.
On July 1, 2008, Russia's chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin
Alexander Bastrykin
Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin is a Russian official, Former First Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia,and former Chairman of The Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office...
confirmed that Rustam Makhmudov, the man believed by authorities to have fired the fatal shot, was hiding in western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Bastrykin did not publicly identify the specific country, but said it was known by Russian authorities. Unconfirmed Russian media reports suggest that Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
has requested Makhmudov's extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Opinions
Moscow-based journalist Yulia LatyninaYulia Latynina
Yulia Leonidovna Latynina is a Russian journalist, writer and radio host. She works at the radio station Echo of Moscow. She also writes for Novaya Gazeta and The Moscow Times.-Writer, journalist and radio host:...
suggested in February 2009 that the mastermind of the assassination might have been people around the former President of Chechnya Alu Alkhanov
Alu Alkhanov
Alu Dadashevich Alkhanov is a Russian politician, the former president of Russia's Chechen Republic.Alkhanov is a career police officer who fought within the ranks of the Russian army during the First Chechen War. He was elected president on August 30, 2004, under controversial circumstances...
.
The trial
On October 2, 2008, the case against Khadzhikurbanov and Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov was sent to court by the prosecutors.On 25 November 2008, it was reported that the murder was ordered by a Russian politician. The defence lawyer representing the four men charged over Politkovskaya's murder told reporters that the unnamed politician, based in Russia, was mentioned in the case files.
The deputy Editor-in-chief editor of Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
Sergei Sokolov publicly asserted in court that the suspected hitman Rustam Makhmudov had been wanted for other crimes by the police since 1998, but had been protected by the Russian domestic secret service (FSB) and, personally, by FSB Colonel Pavel Ryaguzov who provided him with a forged passport. Ryaguzov was another suspect in the case. An attorney for Ryaguzov objected to this disclosure on the grounds that the alleged connections of Makmudov with FSB represent a "state secret".
On 19 February 2009 the trial ended with the unanimous jury acquittal of Dzhabrail Makhmudov, Ibragim Makhmudov, and Sergei Khadzhikurbanov. The prosecutor Vera Pashkovskaya stated that the verdict would be appealed.
Commenting on the end of the trial against a few suspects in Moscow yesterday, Andrew McIntosh, Chairman of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
Parliamentary Assembly’s Sub-Committee on the Media and Rapporteur on media freedom, expressed his deep frustration at the lack of progress in investigating the murder of Anna Politkovskaya on 7 October 2006 and the inability of the Russian authorities to find her killers: “Two years ago, in its Resolution 1535 (2007), the Assembly called on the Russian Parliament to closely monitor the progress in the criminal investigations regarding the murder of Anna Politkovskaya and hold the authorities accountable for any failures to investigate or prosecute. The closure of the trial yesterday can only be regarded as a blatant failure. I call on the Russian authorities and Parliament to relaunch a proper investigation and shed light on this murder, which undermines not only freedom of expression in Russia, but also its democratic foundation based on the rule of law. There are no excuses for these flawed investigations into murders of politically critical journalists writing against corruption and crime within government, such as the murders of Georgy Gongadze in Ukraine in 2000 and Paul Klebnikov in Moscow in 2004”.
The BBC comment on the trial's failure said: "The alleged killer was somehow tipped off and was able to flee the country. And it has never emerged why Anna Politkovskaya had been under surveillance by the FSB for at least two months before her murder. Very quickly the investigation ground to a halt. As soon as it became clear that the FSB was involved, a veil of secrecy descended."
Retrial
On June 25, 2009, the Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the Russian Federation
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is the court of last resort in Russian administrative law, civil law and criminal law cases. It also supervises the work of lower courts. Its predecessor is the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union....
overturned the no-guilty verdicts and ordered a retrial for three men on charges related to her murder.
See also
- Human rights in RussiaHuman rights in RussiaThe rights and liberties of the citizens of the Russian Federation are granted by Chapter 2 of the Constitution adopted in 1993.Russia is the signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has also ratified a number of other international human rights instruments, including the...
- Politics of RussiaPolitics of RussiaThe politics of Russia take place in a framework of a federal semi-presidential republic. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and of a multi-party system with executive power exercised by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed...
- List of journalists killed in Russia
- Media freedom in Russia
External links
- Interfax Assassination Story
- A suspicious death in Russia, The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, 8 October 2006 For what reason did Putin the spy kill Politkovskaya - Letter from Moscow: The Accused, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, 23 March 2009