A Moscow jury convicted five men on Tuesday for the 2006 murder of journalist, and Kremlin critic, Anna Politkovskaya. The Committee to Protect Journalists described Politkovskaya as “a fierce Kremlin critic renowned for her reporting on human rights abuses during the Chechen conflict.” Politkovskaya was found shot dead in her apartment building in 2006 and Reuters reports, her death “drew attention to the risks faced by Russians who challenge the authorities and deepened Western concerns for the rule of law under President Vladimir Putin, who was then serving his second term.”
Here’s more from Reuters:
Another jury’s 2009 acquittal of three of the men who were found guilty of murder on Tuesday embarrassed Russian prosecutors and was later thrown out by the Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial. The defendants included three Chechen brothers, one of whom was accused of shooting Politkovskaya in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building on Oct. 7, 2006, as well as their uncle and a former police officer. Lawyers, rights activists and relatives of Politkovskaya say that justice will not be done until those who ordered her contract-style killing are identified and convicted.
A judge is expected to sentence the five men Wednesday, the Associated Press reports, with each facing potential life in prison.
