Five jailed in Russia for shooting journalist Anna Politkovskaya
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Five men received long prison terms on Monday for killing investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot in 2006.
Politkovskaya, 48, was noted for her criticism of Kremlin policies in Chechnya and of human rights violations there. She was shot to death in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building.
Gunman Rustam Makhmudov and his uncle, Lom-Ali Gaitukayev — who was convicted of organizing the shooting — were sentenced to life. Two of Makhmudov's brothers were sentenced to 12 and 14 years and a former Moscow policeman, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, was given 20 years as accomplices. All five were convicted last month.
The Makhmudovs and Gaitukayev are all of Chechen origin.
Despite the convictions, it is unclear who ordered the killing and Politkovsakaya's family says it will continue to push for the case to be fully solved.
"For us, the most important thing is to find the person who ordered the killing," her son, Ilya Politkovsky, said after the sentences were announced, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee, said "exhaustive measures are being taken at this time" to find the killing's initiator.
AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments