Court on Anna Politkovskaya's murder case interrogates FSB agents

On December 18, five witnesses were interrogated at the trial of the murder of the observer of "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya, including employees of the FSB (Federal Security Bureau), who were interrogated in the closed regime, since state secrets could be mentioned in the process.

The "Kommersant" writes that Colonel Vadim Slyusar, deputy head of the FSB Department for the Central District of Moscow, was interrogated who reported that his employees had not traced the perished journalist and also asserted that Rustam Makhmudov, currently searched, and his brother Dzhabrail never worked for the FSB.

The Colonel said that his service had indeed monitored the activities of the company "Dzhumandzhi Travel", where Eduard Ponikarov worked, who had been attacked by defendants Ryaguzov and Sergey Khadzhikurbanov.

Under the version of the investigation, the above FSB agents, while extorting money and documents on one of the clients from Ponikarov, had illegally detained and then beaten him. According to the witness, the "Dzhumandzhi Travel" was of interest for operative services at least because they received information that the company was engaged in illegal drawing up documents and visas for persons going abroad. And FSB officers did not exclude that among those leaving Russia there could be suspects of mingling in illegal armed formations in Northern Caucasus.

Colonel Slyusar has told the court that defendant Ryaguzov and other FSB Department agents conducted their operative actions at the tourist agency "on absolutely lawful grounds."

The fact of shadowing the journalist by the FSB was reported to the court by Sergey Sokolov, chief editor of the "Novaya Gazeta", who held the journalistic investigation of Politkovskaya's murder. According to his story, the observer of the newspaper was tracked both by those accused of murdering her and FSB agents. The version that  Dzhabrail Makhmudov, now in the prisoners' dock, and his brother Rustam, now in search, were FSB agents was announced not by Sergey Sokolov only, but also by defendants' advocates.