terça-feira, 31 de maio de 2011

Anna Politkovskaya murder suspect arrested in Chechnya


The man suspected of shooting Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 has been arrested in Chechnya, Russian and Chechen sources say.
Rustam Makhmudov was arrested overnight at his parents' home, his lawyer told AFP news agency.
Two of the detainee's brothers and a third man are currently awaiting trial over the murder in Moscow.
Politkovskaya's murder in cold blood outside her home in the Russian capital caused shock and revulsion.
Rustam Makhmudov's brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim, have been accused of acting as drivers at the scene of the crime while former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov has been accused of providing logistical support.
All three men were tried and acquitted for lack of evidence in 2009 but the verdict was overturned by Russia's supreme court, which ordered them to be retried.
Rustam Makhmudov remained a fugitive through his brothers' first trial.
Video evidence
A Russian police source confirmed news of the arrest for Interfax news agency but there was no official comment from prosecutors in Moscow.
The detainee's lawyer, Saidakhmet Arsamerzayev, said the defence would seek to disprove key video evidence which allegedly shows his client's face.
He added that he expected Mr Makhmudov to be taken to Moscow.
The suspect, 37, was born in Achkoi-Martan, Chechnya, according to his profile on Interpol's website.
Politkovskaya was commended outside Russia for her investigative journalism, particularly her reports on Russian human rights abuses during the second war against separatists in Chechnya, and on corruption in high places.
At the time of her death, aged 48, she was working for a low-circulation Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, known for its fierce attacks on the country's authorities.
On 7 October 2006, she was found shot dead in a lift at her apartment block with a pistol and four bullets lying near her body.
Grainy CCTV footage from the building, which was broadcast on Russian television, showed a man in a baseball cap following her inside just before the shooting.
BBC NEWS