Translated material
"Two Drivers and a Mediator"
The trial of the alleged participants in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya has begun
Yesterday, preliminary hearings were held in the Moscow District Military Court in the case of the murder of Novaya Gazeta columnist Anna Politkovskaya . There are four people in the dock - former employee of the Moscow Organized Crime Control Department Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, natives of Chechnya, and FSB lieutenant colonel Pavel Ryaguzov .True, neither Anna Politkovskaya’s killer nor the customer are among them. Khadzhikurbanov and Makhmudov are involved in the case only as accomplices in the crime, and Ryaguzov has nothing to do with the murder at all. He ended up in court only because, according to investigators, back in 2002, together with Khadzhikurbanov, he participated in the kidnapping of a businessman.
Anna Politkovskaya was killed in her entrance to her house on Lesnaya Street on October 7, 2006. When she was returning from the store, a killer approached her at the elevator and shot her twice with an IZH-71 pistol with a silencer. Throwing down the weapon, the killer fled.
Almost immediately, as the main version, the investigation put forward the professional activities of the journalist, who was known for her investigations of crimes of federal forces in Chechnya against civilians and harsh criticism of Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov. Security cameras installed near Politkovskaya's house and in the store where she was shopping recorded not only the killer himself, but also several other people who were spying on her. In addition, it later became known that the pistol with which she was killed was already in the police files - in the early 90s, during a gang war, several people were shot with it.
After this, there was a lull in the investigation, and in August 2007, the special services unexpectedly reported that the crime had been solved and 11 suspects had been arrested at once. However, gradually the number of accused began to decrease, and by June of this year there were only four of them left.
The investigation believes that Dzhabrail Makhmudov was driving the car in which the killer arrived at Politkovskaya’s house, and his brother was spying on the journalist. Yesterday, the Investigative Committee named Khadzhikurbanov as the organizer of the assassination attempt, although officially he is also listed as an accomplice. It is assumed that he acted as an intermediary between the customer and the killer. True, exactly how this happened is not very clear, since the investigation has neither one nor the other.
The fourth defendant, FSB Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Ryaguzov, has nothing to do with the murder of the journalist at all. Initially, he was also declared an accomplice in the assassination attempt, and the SKP twice went to court with a petition for his arrest specifically in the Politkovskaya case, but both times the court considered that there was insufficient evidence of his participation in the murder. He was eventually arrested on charges of kidnapping, abuse of authority and trespassing due to a story dating back to 2002. According to investigators, he then allegedly extorted 10 thousand dollars from businessman Eduard Ponikarov. And he was involved in the Politkovskaya case only because, as investigators believe, Khadzhikurbanov was also involved in that story.
Yesterday the court considered the petitions filed by the parties. The defendants asked for a jury trial. The prosecutor insisted on holding the trial behind closed doors under the pretext that the materials contained secret documents. But the lawyers of the injured party and the accused demanded an open hearing of the case, and the court supported them. The judge noted that the trial would be closed to the public only if pressure was put on the jury.
In addition, lawyer Karina Moskalenko, representing the interests of Politkovskaya’s family, said that investigators rushed to announce the disclosure of this case without carrying out all the necessary investigative actions. “Witnesses during interrogations stated that they knew from Politkovskaya herself that Ramzan Kadyrov had repeatedly threatened her,” she said. However, according to the lawyer, the President of Chechnya was never questioned, and now this needs to be done.
The defense of the accused also supported the victims. One of their lawyers, Murad Musayev, said yesterday: “Investigators claim that Dzhabrail Makhmudov brought the killer, and his brother was keeping an eye on Politkovskaya. But where they got this from is unclear. The available testimony from witnesses on this matter varies, and the investigation generally ignores the video recording, which shows that Politkovskaya was being followed by a man and a woman. These people were never found. But even if we accept the prosecution's version as truth, it still turns out to be a farce - in fact, only two drivers and an intermediary are being tried. Neither the customer nor the performers are in the dock. What kind of solution to the case can we talk about?”
The cases against the perpetrator and customer of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya have been separated into separate proceedings and are still being investigated, but it is not clear who the investigation has in mind. Regarding the killer, not so long ago, sources in the special services unofficially reported that this is Rustam Makhmudov - the brother of the arrested Dzhabrail and Ibrahim . True, it is known that he has been wanted for ten years in connection with a kidnapping case, and nothing has been heard about him all this time. The person who ordered the murder remains an even more mysterious figure, and it is not even clear whether the investigation knows him. The UPC never named any names, making only vague hints that he was hiding abroad.
Jury selection is expected to begin in court today. Invitations to the selection were sent out to 2 thousand Muscovites, but the judge was not particularly optimistic, noting that it would be good if 60 people came.