Five men were found guilty in a Moscow court of killing Russian investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, although the mastermind behind the murder has not found.
Four men, three of them brothers, will be sentenced Wednesday,
BBC News reported One was found guilty of shooting the 48-year-old reporter who was known for investigating Russian abuses in Chechnya and criticizing the Kremlin, and the other three were found guilty of organizing the crime, BBC said.
Three of the men initially were acquitted in 2009, but a Russian court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial, BBC said. In 2013, a Russian policeman was found guilty of supplying the gun used to kill Politkovskaya.
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The journalist’s family spoke through an attorney and said that while they were pleased with this verdict, the person responsible for ordering Politkovskaya’s death must be found,
The Guardian reported.
Amnesty International echoed the family’s thoughts.
“The tragic murder of Anna Politkovskaya uncovered the incredible dangers faced by those trying to expose human rights abuses and corruption in Russia,” a statement from Sergei Nikitin, the head of the agency’s Russian office, said. “Authorities in Russia must demonstrate with concrete actions that they are trying to establish who wanted Anna Politkovskaya dead. Those who ordered her killing must be identified and face justice.”
The Guardian said that Kremlin critics doubt anyone else will ever be arrested in connection with the crime because they believe the government might indicate government involvement.
Lawyers for the defendants indicated to the Guardian that they would appeal the verdict. The defendants are brothers Rustam, Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, their uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, and police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, who was found guilty last year.
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