Police looking for suspected Politkovskaya hitman in Belgium

Russian and Belgian police are currently searching in the Belgian city of Liège for a man suspecting of being the hitman in the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow in October 2006. This was confirmed during the weekend by Belgian officials, who – like their Russian counterparts – did not name him. He is also reportedly being sought in his own region in Russia. Sources close to the case said the man is almost certainly Rustam Makhmudov, who has been wanted as a suspect since 2008 and who is the brother of two men who were acquitted as accomplices in 2009. After prosecutors appealed against the acquittal, the supreme court ordered a retrial and then an additional investigation. Reporters Without Borders regards the efforts to combat impunity for violence against journalists as one of the most urgent priorities for media freedom in Russia. The recent attacks on journalists and the unsolved murders clearly demonstrate the lack of political will and the lack of importance that the authorities attach to the lives of journalists. Reporters Without Borders also deplores the fact that the Russian authorities are not keeping Politkovskaya’s family informed about developments in the case. Representatives of the family (Anna Stavitskaya photo) have complained of their difficulties in finding out what is happening. Finally, we hope that the revelations about the search in Belgium is not just a piece of political PR in response to the Russian civil society protests and President Medvedev’s comments following the physical attack on Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin on 6 November and the attacks on Sergei Mikhailov of Saratovsky Reporters, Anatoly Adamchuk of Zhukovskiye Vesti and the activist Konstantin Fetisov. A total of 25 journalists have been killed in Russia since March 2000 in connection with their work. Politkovskaya case chronology - 7 October 2006: Anna Politkovskaya is gunned down in the stairway of her apartment building on Lesnaya Street, in Moscow, shortly after 4pm. Despite the international outcry, there is no comment from the Russian authorities until 10 October, when then President Vladimir Putin says the murder should not go unpunished but describes her influence on political life in Russia as “insignificant.” - August 2007: Ten suspects are arrested. - 20 June 2008: Prosecutors announce that the preliminary investigation is complete and that four suspects are to be tried as accomplices. - 17 November 2008: The trial of four men accused of various degrees of complicity (including following and watching Politkovskaya) begins in Moscow. Two of the defendants are the brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov. One is former Moscow police officer Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, who is alleged to have organised the execution of the murder. The fourth is former FSB colonel Pavel Ryaguzov, who is charged with extortion in connection with the case. When the trial begins, it is open to the public. Two days later, the public is barred. It is finally reopened to the public on 25 November. The trial is marred by many irregularities and concludes with the acquittal of the defendants in February 2009. The prosecutor’s office appeals to the supreme court, which overturns the not-guilty verdicts on 25 June 2009 and orders a retrial. - 5 August 2009: When the retrial begins, the Politkovskaya family asks the court to send the case back to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. Both the prosecutor’s office and the defence concur with the request but the court refuses. The family appeals and the supreme court approves the request on 3 September. - 3 September 2009: The case is sent back to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation and is combined with the case involving the suspected hitman and instigators. Since then, there have been no significant developments. - 6 October 2010: The judicial authorities extend the investigation until February 2011. - 7 October: Fourth anniversary of the murder. - 6 November: The journalist Oleg Kashin is attacked. President Dmitri Medvedev says those responsible will be punished. The investigations into attacks on several other Russian journalists including Igor Domnikov and Mikhail Beketov are relaunched. - 20 November: It is reported that that a search is under way in Belgium for the suspected hitman in the Politkovskaya murder.