OSCE media freedom representative welcomes sentences in Anna Politkovskaya case, but calls to bring masterminds to justice

In a press release on 10 June 2014, the OSCE informed that the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović welcomed the sentences handed down to five individuals for the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, but called for the investigation to continue to bring the masterminds to justice.

“The Politkovskaya case is still not closed until those who ordered this horrific murder are identified and convicted. Anna’s family, friends and colleagues around the world deserve justice”, Mijatović said.

On June 9 the Moscow City Court found five individuals, including three defendants acquitted in the previous trial, guilty of planning and carrying out the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. They received lengthy prison sentences. The court ruling was based on the jury trial verdict which on 22 May found all five suspects guilty.

The court also confirmed that Politkovskaya was killed for her critical reporting. However, the investigation was unable to name the masterminds of the crime.

“Impunity for crimes against journalists is still commonplace in several countries within the OSCE area, this case serves as a horrid reminder of this,” Mijatović said.

Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed in Moscow on 7 October 2006 in the residential building where she lived. Politkovskaya was known for her critical views and reports from the Chechen war. In 2003, she received the OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy for her courageous professional work in support of “human rights and freedom of the media”.

Source of photo: www.osce.org