MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – Relatives, friends and rights activists marked on Sunday the first anniversary of the murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Politkovskaya, known for her criticism of the Kremlin’s policy in Chechnya, was gunned down in an apparent contract killing in an elevator in her apartment building on October 7, 2006 in Moscow. She was 48.
The murder drew international condemnation while the critics of President Vladimir Putin accused the Kremlin of failing to safeguard the freedom of speech.
After the murder of Politkovskaya, there were demands to bring her killers to justice as soon as possible. But it was 10 months before any arrests were made.
Russia’s Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika announced in August the arrest of 10 suspects in the Politkovskaya case, suggesting the journalist had been killed by an organized crime group, which included former and serving police and security officers.
More than 200 campaigners gathered in central Moscow Sunday to mark the anniversary of Politkovskaya’s murder.