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Russia: Suspect arrested in Anna Politkovskaya murder

Russian authorities arrested Rustam Makhmudov in Chechyna on Tuesday (31 May). He is suspected of shooting Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya to death in 2006. Politkovskaya was one of the fiercest critics of now Chechyan President Ramzan Kadyrov, having accused him of torture and corruption. Makmudov’s arrest follows the acquittal of his two brothers and a former police investigator who were tried as accompli to the Politkovskaya murder in 2009. It is now claimed that Makmudov could be the missing link in the murder conspiracy.

Anna Politkovskaya: In the Russian media

Most Russian newspapers, liberal and conservative, covered the anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s murder today. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a liberal independent newspaper, Rossiskaya Gazeta, the government’s mouthpiece, and the liberal Moscow News, along with other left and right-wing papers, gave the story the same amount of coverage and reflected similar viewpoints.

Only Kommersant, a liberal newspaper, and Politkovskaya’s own Novaya Gazeta stood out from the rest. Kommersant gave more column inches to the anniversary and published the sceptical comment of the senior editor of Novaya Gazeta, Sergei Sokolov: “I do not think that the investigators have found out anything new, and even if they did, it is in their interests to keep quiet.”

Sokolov’s cynicism contrasts with the reporting in the rest of the press. The investigation into Politkovskaya’s murder has now been extended to next February. While police agents in the rest of the media are reported to have made progress and found new evidence, Sokolov is one of the few critical voices. “The ones who we think have something to do with the case have been investigated already, years ago, before the release of the murder suspects.”

Russia: Circle of Politkovskaya murder suspects widens

Detectives with the federal Investigative Committee say they are examining an expanded circle of suspects in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The new suspects are said to be ethnic Chechens who wanted to get on the good side of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. There is no evidence directly linking Kadyrov to the case. The original defendants are still considered as suspects.

Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin told CPJ on 28 September that his agency was mistaken in “rushing” a previous case to trial.