In new boost to impunity, court blocks further investigation into Politkovskaya murder

A Moscow military court today decided to press on with the retrial of three alleged accomplices in Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya’s murder, rejecting a petition by the Politkovskaya family for it to be postponed while further investigations were carried out. Presiding judge Nikolai Tkachuk denied the request although it was supported both defence lawyers and prosecutors. “We are utterly dismayed by the Russian judicial system’s inability to demonstrate any determination to solve this murder,” Reporters Without Borders said. “There could not have been a worse decision just weeks after Natalia Estemirova’s tragic murder and just two months before the third anniversary of Politkovskaya’s death. Impunity now reigns supreme in Russia.” The press freedom organisation added: “This decision serves to confirm that nothing can be expected from this retrial. No light will be shed on the many questions left unanswered by the original trial. The retrial will be nothing more than an empty formality.” The three suspects are being retried as a result of a supreme court ruling on 25 June in favour of an appeal by prosecutors against their acquittal by a jury on 19 February. As soon as the retrial opened on 5 August, the Politkovskaya family submitted their request for a postponement to permit further investigations. The court deferred a decision on the petition, which was backed by both the prosecutor’s office and the defence, for the next hearing. After announcing his refusal today, Judge Tkachuk said the retrial would resume on 7 September, when a jury would be chosen. A total of 20 journalists have been killed in connection with their work in Russia since March 2000. The Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta has taken an especially heavy toll, with four journalists killed. This year has seen an increase in violence, especially against local newspapers. Two leading human rights activists have also been killed – Stanislav Markelov on 19 January and Natalia Estemirova on 15 July. Russia was ranked 141st out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. Listen to Anna Politkovskaya's interview by Radio France International