Ex-police colonel charged over Politkovskaya murder

An ex-Moscow police colonel has been formally charged in connection with the murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Retired police lieutenant colonel Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who was arrested on 24 August has also named Chechen businessman Lom-Ali Gaitukayev as the main organiser of the crime, according to Russian officials.

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, Pavlyuchenkov has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the murder and identified the man who gave orders to Gaitukayev as part of a plea bargain.

Gaitukayev, who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in the Ukraine for attempted murder, allegedly organised the team of men involved in the crime, including Pavlyuchenkov.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, which is responsible for the case, Pavlyuchenkov provided the murder weapon and ordered police officers in his surveillance team to follow her and track her daily movements.

Pavlyuchenkov then allegedly passed the information to a group of men organised by Gaitukayev, including three of Gaitukayev's nephews, brothers Rustam, Dzhabrail, and Ibragim Makhmudov, and another former Moscow policeman Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.

Khadzhikurbanov and two of the Makhmudov brothers were tried for Politkovskaya's murder in February 2009 but were acquitted. Pavlyuchenkov reportedly served as a secret witness for the prosecution.

In June 2009, Russia's supreme court overturned the verdict and ordered a fresh investigation, leading to the rearrest of one of the three brothers, Rustam Makhmudov,in June this year. He is currently awaiting trial.

Politkovskaya was 48 when she was shot in 2006. She had risen to prominence for her critical coverage of the Kremlin, human rights abuses in Chechnya, and other social issues in the country.

"Russian investigators are at last making some progress in Anna Politkovskaya's murder inquiry," said Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"They should now build on this and broaden their investigation and apprehend all those behind this murder, including the masterminds."

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