Anna Politkovskaya - Murder, Investigation and Trial

Murder, Investigation and Trial

Politkovskaya was found dead in the lift of her block of flats in central Moscow on 7 October 2006. She had been shot twice in the chest, once in the shoulder, and once in the head at point-blank range.

The funeral was held on 10 October 2006 at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in the outskirts of Moscow. Before Politkovskaya was buried, more than one thousand mourners filed past her coffin to pay their last respects. Dozens of Politkovskaya's colleagues, public figures, and admirers of her work gathered at the cemetery. No high-ranking Russian officials could be seen at the ceremony. Politkovskaya was buried near her father, who had died shortly before her. There was widespread international reaction to the assassination. Some of her colleagues and friends accused the Russian authorities of negligence in doing nothing to prevent her murder, or even of actual involvement in her assassination.

In May 2007, a large posthumous collection of Anna's articles, entitled With Good Reason, was published by Novaya gazeta and launched at the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow The event came soon after the birth of Anna's namesake grandchild: Vera's daughter was named Anna in honour of her grandmother. A few months later, 10 men were detained on suspicion of various degrees of involvement Politkovskaya's murder. Four of them were brought before the Moscow District Military Court in October 2008.