Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead on October 7, 2006. The murder shocked Russia and the world. Ten years on, the case remains unsolved. Politovskaya’s two children continue their quest for justice.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The murder case shocked public opinion

It was Saturday afternoon, October 7, 2006, when Anna Politkovskaya drove from a grocery store to her apartment in Moscow. The 48-year-old journalist had been shot four times. Her body was found in the elevator of her apartment building. The murder shocked Russia and was widely reported by the world press.

The fact that Politkovskaya was murdered on Putin’s birthday led to widespread speculation at the time that the killers wanted to give Putin a “creepy birthday present.” However, subsequent investigations failed to provide any evidence for this theory.

Politkovskaya was born in 1958 to Ukrainian diplomats working in New York. She studied journalism in Moscow and became famous in the late 1990s as a reporter for Novaya Gazeta. Politkovskaya's favorite topic was issues related to Chechnya.

The mastermind has not been revealed yet.

Identifying Politovskaya's killer proved difficult, although the first suspects were quickly identified. When the murder occurred, investigators believed the perpetrators might have Chechen connections. The first trials began in 2008 and ended in an acquittal just a few months later due to lack of evidence.

At that time, there were three suspects: two brothers, Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and former police officer Sergei Hajikurbanov. In 2009, the Russian Supreme Court ordered a retrial of the case.

After further investigation, Rustam Makhmudov was arrested in 2011 and brought to trial a year later. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkova, a former Moscow police lieutenant, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his alleged involvement in the journalist's murder.

After several trials, the most recent of which took place in 2014, a total of five people were convicted. Rustam Makhmudov and Lom-Ali Gaytukayev were sentenced to life in prison. Dzhabrail was sentenced to 14 years in prison and Ibragim was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Sergei Hajikurbanov was sentenced to 20 years in prison. To this day, all five convicted people continue to claim their innocence.

At the time, Novaya Gazeta welcomed the court’s verdict but called on authorities to continue investigating to determine who was behind the murder. Politkovskaya’s now-adult children, Ilya Politkovsky and Vera Politkovskaya, also called for the truth to be revealed so that justice can be served. Both Ilya Politkovsky and Vera Politkovskaya said that the “crux” of the murder had not been solved.

According to ANTD.VN