Putin promises to investigate killing
MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin pledged to President Bush on Monday that authorities would do everything they could to find the killers of an investigative journalist who was a fierce critic of Kremlin policy toward Chechnya.
In a phone conversation with Bush, Putin said “all necessary efforts will be made for an objective investigation into the tragic death” of Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in an apparent contract killing in her apartment building Saturday.
Putin’s remarks were his first statement on the slaying of the 48-year-old award-winning reporter who uncovered abuses of civilians in Chechnya.
Her newspaper has offered a reward of nearly $1 million for information that would help solve the crime, which provoked worldwide condemnation and shone the spotlight on Russia as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
Her colleagues said she had been working on a story about torture and abductions in the war-ravaged southern province – abuses she blamed on Moscow-backed Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. “I dream of seeing him tried,” she said in an interview several days before her death.
The semiweekly newspaper Novaya Gazeta, where Politkovskaya had worked, on Monday published a special edition about her and inquiring into the cause of her killing.
The paper said the killing was either revenge by Kadyrov or an attempt to discredit him.
Kadyrov expressed condolences over Politkovskaya’s death, and denied any “Chechen trace” in the killing.
“It is hearsay and rumors, which don’t show either politicians or the media in a good light,” Kadyrov told the Vremya Novostei daily.
Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika has taken personal charge of the investigation, but Politkovskaya’s colleagues have expressed doubts the murder will ever be solved.
Russia is the third-most deadly country for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which says Politkovskaya was at least the 43rd reporter killed for her work in Russia since 1993.
Novaya Gazeta announced a $929,700 reward for information on the slaying and pledged to conduct an independent probe.
Investigators had originally said the gunman was believed to have acted alone, but the online daily newspaper Kommersant reported Monday he possibly had an accomplice, a woman in her 30s, who helped him follow the victim from the grocery store.
Coroners possessed a composite sketch of the killer, who was wearing a cap based on video from a security camera at Politkovskaya’s apartment building, and police were hunting for the suspects Monday.
Bush joined the international chorus of condemnation.
“Like many Russians, Americans were shocked and saddened by the brutal murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a fearless investigative journalist, highly respected in both Russia and the United States,” Bush said Sunday.
“We urge the Russian Government to conduct a vigorous and thorough investigation to bring to justice those responsible for her murder.”
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour mourned Politkovskaya.
“Her death is a tremendous loss for the Russian Federation and for all who struggle for human rights around the world,” Arbour said in a statement.
Arbour said Politkovskaya would be remembered for her pursuit of justice on behalf of victims of human rights violations in Chechnya.
“A thorough probe to bring those responsible to justice … will send a clear message against impunity and for the protection of human rights defenders in Russia,” Arbour said.
The European Union and the Council of Europe rights watchdog have also expressed their condolences and called for a far-reaching probe.
In Germany, where Putin will meet today with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said the killers and those behind it must be found and punished. “Beyond that … it is the task of a government to ensure that a climate of fear in which press freedom cannot develop does not arise in a country,” he said.