The investigations committee of the public prosecutor`s office announced today that it has concluded the investigation into the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya and has charged three men with her killing.
According to a press release of Reporters Without Borders, forwarded to UNIAN, it also said charges have been dropped against former Chechen local government official Shamil Burayev, who had been arrested on suspicion of being one of the masterminds.
"We regret the premature conclusion of the investigation," Reporters Without Borders said. "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. We call for assurances that the investigation will resume after these three initial suspects have been tried."
The three men charged with participating in the murder are Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail
Makhmudov and Ibrahim Makhmudov. A former lieutenant-colonel in the Federal Security Service (FSB), Pavel Ryaguzov, has been charged with abuse of authority and extortion in
connection with the case.
Politkovskaya family lawyer Anna Stavitskaya said the authorities had been in a rush to close the
case. "There are no grounds for concluding the investigation as the persons really involved have
not been found," she said. "I do no understand why the case is being brought to trial already."
Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitri Muratov said that he did not think the investigation had been finished and that he was still waiting for the mastermind to be identified.
The Politkovskaya family and the accused will be able to have access to the case file from tomorrow.
