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New Politkovskaya probe ordered New Politkovskaya probe ordered
(about 2 hours later)
Russia's Supreme Court has ordered a new investigation into the 2006 killing of the journalist, Anna Politkovskaya. Russia's Supreme Court has ordered a new effort to catch those who planned and carried out the killing of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
The court had originally overturned a decision earlier this year to acquit three men charged with helping to plan the murder of the Kremlin critic. Three men were acquitted of involvement in the murder in February, but have since been sent for retrial.
Their retrial had been due to resume soon, after a Moscow court turned down an appeal by her family for a delay. But lawyers say that case will now be halted and merged with the hunt for the killer and the mastermind.
The Politkovskaya family want the case to be combined with another inquiry into who masterminded the killing. Ms Politkovskaya won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya.
It argued a retrial was pointless without a fresh investigation as it would involve the same evidence and suspects, and so would not get to the bottom of who was behind the killing. But her reports, highly critical of the then-President Vladimir Putin and the Chechen leadership, angered many in authority.
The case against the three original suspects - two Chechen brothers alleged to have been drivers at the scene and a former Moscow policeman accused of giving logistical support - will now be combined with the new investigation. She was shot dead in Moscow in 2006.
The three were acquitted at a hearing in February, but the Supreme Court quashed that verdict, citing procedural problems. Decision overturned
Ms Politkovskaya won international renown for her dogged probing of abuses against civilians by Russian-backed security forces in Chechnya A lawyer for the Politkovskaya family said they were "entirely satisfied" by the decision.
But her investigative reports, highly critical of the then-President Vladimir Putin and the Chechen leadership, angered many in authority. The family had launched an appeal for the court case to be sent back to prosecutors, and combined with the hunt for senior figures in the plot, to make one investigation.
The latest decision follows the fatal shooting in July of the human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who also investigated human rights abuses in Chechnya and had worked closely with Ms Politkovskaya. The decision to reject that appeal, taken by a military court in Moscow last month, has now been overturned by the Supreme Court.
The Politkovskaya family argued a retrial was pointless without a fresh investigation as it would involve the same evidence and suspects, and so would not get to the bottom of who was behind the killing.
The three original suspects are two Chechen brothers alleged to have been drivers at the scene and a former Moscow policeman accused of giving logistical support.
A third Makhmudov brother - Rustam - is accused by prosecutors of being the killer but has never been caught.
Campaigners say Russia is one of the most dangerous places for opposition-minded journalists and activists to operate, with many having been beaten or killed in recent years.
One of the most recent cases was the fatal shooting in July of the human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who investigated government abuses in Chechnya and had worked closely with Ms Politkovskaya.