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| Moscow Court Sentences 5 to Prison for Contract Killing of Journalist | Moscow Court Sentences 5 to Prison for Contract Killing of Journalist |
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| MOSCOW — Moscow’s highest criminal court on Monday sentenced five men to prison, including two to life sentences, for the 2006 murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, but left unsolved the question of who ordered the highest-profile killing of a Russian journalist of the last decade. | MOSCOW — Moscow’s highest criminal court on Monday sentenced five men to prison, including two to life sentences, for the 2006 murder of the investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, but left unsolved the question of who ordered the highest-profile killing of a Russian journalist of the last decade. |
| Ms. Politkovskaya, who was known for scathing criticism of Kremlin policies in the Russian republic of Chechnya and of the local strongman leader Ramzan A. Kadyrov, was 48 when she was shot to death in a contract killing in her Moscow apartment block. | Ms. Politkovskaya, who was known for scathing criticism of Kremlin policies in the Russian republic of Chechnya and of the local strongman leader Ramzan A. Kadyrov, was 48 when she was shot to death in a contract killing in her Moscow apartment block. |
| On Monday, Judge Pavel Melyokhin sentenced Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, the organizer of the team that murdered Ms. Politkovskaya, and his nephew Rustam Makhmudov, the gunman, to life sentences in prison. | On Monday, Judge Pavel Melyokhin sentenced Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, the organizer of the team that murdered Ms. Politkovskaya, and his nephew Rustam Makhmudov, the gunman, to life sentences in prison. |
| The sentences for the men, who were convicted last month, were the toughest punishment to date in the long-running investigation into Ms. Politkovskaya’s death. | The sentences for the men, who were convicted last month, were the toughest punishment to date in the long-running investigation into Ms. Politkovskaya’s death. |
| Yet that investigation has yielded little publicly about who wanted Ms. Politkovskaya killed and why. | Yet that investigation has yielded little publicly about who wanted Ms. Politkovskaya killed and why. |
| “The case cannot be closed because it has not been solved,” Vera Politkovskaya, Ms. Politkovskaya’s daughter, said by telephone. | “The case cannot be closed because it has not been solved,” Vera Politkovskaya, Ms. Politkovskaya’s daughter, said by telephone. |
| Critics have claimed there is a lack of political will in Russia for finding who stood behind Ms. Politkovskaya’s killing. After her death, President Vladimir V. Putin at a news conference in Dresden sought to play down Ms. Politkovskaya’s influence, calling her reporting “extremely insignificant for political life in Russia.” | |
| Ms. Politkovskaya’s murder, Mr. Putin said, brought Russia “far greater injuries and damage than her publications.” | Ms. Politkovskaya’s murder, Mr. Putin said, brought Russia “far greater injuries and damage than her publications.” |
| Since then, the investigation has lumbered forward with arrests, releases and retrials. In 2012, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a retired police lieutenant colonel, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for organizing surveillance of Ms. Politkovskaya before her murder, but denied he had ordered the killing. | Since then, the investigation has lumbered forward with arrests, releases and retrials. In 2012, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a retired police lieutenant colonel, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for organizing surveillance of Ms. Politkovskaya before her murder, but denied he had ordered the killing. |
| On Monday, Vladimir Markin, the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said that “exhaustive measures are currently being taken to establishing the person who ordered the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.” | On Monday, Vladimir Markin, the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said that “exhaustive measures are currently being taken to establishing the person who ordered the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.” |
| “All we can do is rely on the promises of the Investigative Committee,” Ms. Politkovskaya’s daughter said. | “All we can do is rely on the promises of the Investigative Committee,” Ms. Politkovskaya’s daughter said. |
| On Monday, two brothers of Rustam Makhmudov were sentenced for following Ms. Politkovskaya’s movements the day she was killed. Ibragim Makhmudov was sentenced to 12 years, and Dzhabarail Makhmudov to 14 years. | On Monday, two brothers of Rustam Makhmudov were sentenced for following Ms. Politkovskaya’s movements the day she was killed. Ibragim Makhmudov was sentenced to 12 years, and Dzhabarail Makhmudov to 14 years. |
| A fifth man, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former police officer, was sentenced to 20 years for serving as an accomplice in the killing. | A fifth man, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former police officer, was sentenced to 20 years for serving as an accomplice in the killing. |
| Ms. Politkovskaya’s killing was one of several in recent years to bring attention to a culture of violence against journalists in Russia. Other murdered journalists included Paul Klebnikov, the Forbes Russia editor, who was gunned down in Moscow in 2004, and Natalya Estemirova, a human rights activist who was kidnapped in Chechnya in 2009 and found dead several hours later in neighboring Ingushetia. | Ms. Politkovskaya’s killing was one of several in recent years to bring attention to a culture of violence against journalists in Russia. Other murdered journalists included Paul Klebnikov, the Forbes Russia editor, who was gunned down in Moscow in 2004, and Natalya Estemirova, a human rights activist who was kidnapped in Chechnya in 2009 and found dead several hours later in neighboring Ingushetia. |
| Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program director of Human Rights Watch, said that in many of the cases “impunity has prevailed.” The attention devoted to Ms. Politkovskaya’s case had put pressure on the authorities to produce some results. | Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program director of Human Rights Watch, said that in many of the cases “impunity has prevailed.” The attention devoted to Ms. Politkovskaya’s case had put pressure on the authorities to produce some results. |
| “It is a very high-profile murder case. It made all the headlines,” Ms. Lokshina said. “It was very clear that they had to show something, and that’s what happened today.” | “It is a very high-profile murder case. It made all the headlines,” Ms. Lokshina said. “It was very clear that they had to show something, and that’s what happened today.” |
| “But they did not go after the big guy,” she added, “the one who actually ordered it.” | “But they did not go after the big guy,” she added, “the one who actually ordered it.” |