24 February 2009, 22:00
ICPO promises to open Anna Politkovskaya's murder
The Investigation of the criminal case of Anna Politkovskaya's murder will continue until all the accomplices of the crime are identified, as Vladimir Markin, official spokesman of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) has promised.
The "Caucasian Knot" already reported that on February 20, after announcement of the acquittal verdict to the figurants in Politkovskaya's murder case, the Moscow Regional Military Court returned the criminal case to the ICPO.
The inquiry had assumed that Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead on October 7, 2006, in the doorway of the house, where she rented an apartment, in Lesnaya Street by one of Makhmudov brothers - Rustam. He was not a figurant in the trial, as he is searched. His two brothers - Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudovs, as the inquiry asserted, had helped the gunman - they shadowed Politkovskaya and monitored her house.
However, on February 19, the board of jurymen acquitted all the defendants, who were set free right in the courtroom, together with former FSB Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Ryaguzov, who figured in another episode of the case.
The court refused to consider the civil suit of Politkovskaya's family on collection of solidary moral compensation of 10 million roubles from the respondents, and also rejected the civil suit lodged by Eduard Panikarov, who demanded one million roubles from Khadzikurbanov and Ryaguzov each.
The victims' advocates have stated that the relatives will not appeal against the acquittal verdict. "We've repeatedly stated that completely trusted the jurymen, and, in general, we aren't going to challenge their verdict anyhow," said Anna Stavitskaya, advocate for Politkovskaya's family.
According to journalist Yulia Latynina, "what happened is very good and very bad, at the same time."
"It's good that the state has failed to imprison secondary figures and close the case. But it's very bad also; as well all understand that these people are at large. First of all, it's a threat to the witnesses," Ms Latynina said live on the "Echo Moskvy" Radio.
