A Moscow
court has handed down life sentences to two men convicted of killing journalist
and longtime Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya. Three other men were given
prison sentences of between 12 and 20 years.
A Moscow
court on Monday sentenced two out of five defendants to life in prison for the
murder of investigative journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, Interfax reported.
The Russian
news agency reported that a judge had agreed to the prosecutors' request for
life imprisonment for Rustam Makhmudov, who was found guilty of actually
pulling the trigger, and his uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who was found guilty of
organizing the shooting.
Last month,
five men were convicted in connection with the killing. The May ruling was the
first time those directly involved in her killing were held accountable. An
earlier trial in 2009 involving some of the same defendants ended without a
conviction.
The
remaining defendents - two brothers to Rustam Makhmudov, Dzhabrail and Ibragim
and former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov - were handed sentences of
between 12 and 20 years, RIA news agency reported.
Politkovskaya
was found shot dead in her apartment building on October 7, 2006 at the age of
48. Her reporting for liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta revealed numerous state
corruption and rights abuses. Her murder drew attention to the dangers faced by vocal critics of Russian authorities.
Investigators
have yet to identify who ordered Politkovskaya's murder.
hc/pfd (Reuters, AFP, AP)
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