00:05, 7 October 2016

10th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's murder: customer enjoys impunity

At the action in memory of the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Photo from the "Caucasian Knot" archive, October 2009

Today, October 7, marks the tenth anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta". The customer of the murder has not yet been identified, and he enjoys its impunity against the background of the authorities' reluctance to solve the crime. This opinion was expressed by relative of Anna Politkovskaya and staff members of the "Novaya Gazeta".

Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta", who wrote articles about Chechnya and Northern Caucasus, was murdered at the entrance of her building on October 7, 2006.

Anna Politkovskaya gave her last interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent 1.5 hours before her death. She commented on the career prospects of the son of Akhmat Kadyrov and stated that she believed Ramzan Kadyrov would not succeed in becoming the president of the republic.

The last material of Anna Politkovskaya, published in the "Novaya Gazeta" during her lifetime, was the article "Punitive conspiracy", reporting on Chechen units, fighting on the side of the federal forces. The then next issue of the "Novaya Gazeta" was to publish the Anna Politkovskaya's article on torture in Chechnya. The material described involvement of Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov in cases of kidnapping.

Editors of the "Novaya Gazeta" have posted a video on the newspaper's website and on its YouTube channel. According to Sokolov, staff members of the newspaper "feel rage towards those who do nothing to find the customer of the Anna Politkovskaya's murder, indulged in his impunity."

It should be noted that till present, in Chechnya, the name of Anna Politkovskaya is mentioned with respect; however, her activities are well-known mostly to older people, human rights defenders, and public figures.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.