“She was brave, she was bold, and she was beautiful. In her fearless quest to uncover the wrongdoings of the Russian State, Anna Politkovskaya inspired awe in some and fear in countless others. Hers was a lonely voice, yet loud enough for the entire country to hear. It was too loud. At age 48 she was assassinated for simply doing her job.”
A Bitter Taste of Freedom
Anna Politkovskaya (August 30, 1958, New York City — Assassinated: October 7, 2006, Moscow)
October 7 2020 — On October 7 2006, Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in front of the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow. After several arrests, releases and retrials over eight years, five people have been jailed for her murder. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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UPDATE (October 7 2020) — It has still not been established who ordered the murder.
Thirteen years later, the murder’s organizer is still free. In accordance with Russian law, there is a 15-year statute of limitation for the crime of first degree murder. Sadly, we are quickly approaching the deadline.
END of UPDATE
“Anna Politkovskaya paid the ultimate price for her bravery in investigating and reporting on human rights violations. Achieving justice and establishing the truth about her murder must become a top political priority. This is owed first and foremost to her family and the general public, but is also an important obligation to uphold media freedom and safety of journalists.”
Council of Europe (October 5 2018)
Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, writer, and human rights activist who reported on political events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999-2005).
It was her reporting from Chechnya that made Politkovskaya’s national and international reputation. For seven years she refused to give up reporting on the war despite numerous acts of intimidation and violence.
Anna was arrested by Russian military forces in Chechnya and subjected to a mock execution. She was poisoned on a plane flying from Moscow via Rostov-on-Don to help resolve the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis, and had to turn back, requiring careful medical treatment in Moscow to restore her health.
Her post-1999 articles about conditions in Chechnya were turned into books several times; Russian readers’ main access to her investigations and publications was through Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper known for its often-critical investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs.
From 2000 onwards, she received numerous international awards for her work. In 2004, she published Putin’s Russia, a personal account of Russia for a Western readership.
On 7 October 2006, she was murdered in the elevator of her block of flats, an assassination that attracted international attention. In June 2014 five men were sentenced to prison for the murder, but it is still unclear who ordered or paid for the contract killing. [Wikipedia]
In July 2018, the European Court of Human Rights found that the authorities of the Russian Federation failed to take adequate investigatory steps to find who had commissioned her murder and to explore allegations that officials of the Russian Federal Security Services or representatives of the Chechen administration had been involved in arranging the murder.
“The probability of finding the mastermind of the murder wears thinner as time passes, but the authorities of the Russian Federation have the duty to pursue the truth and show to the public that they are taking concrete steps towards that goal.”
Targeted by the FSB
The Intercept published a top-secret document released by Edward Snowden with a screenshot of Intellipedia according to which:
“(TS//SI/REL TO USA, AUS, CAN, GBR, NZL) Russian Federal Intelligence Services (probably FSB) are known to have targeted the webmail account of the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
On 5 December 2005, RFIS initiated an attack against the account annapolitovskaya@US Provider1, by deploying malicious software which is not available in the public domain.
It is not known whether the attack is in any way associated with the death of the journalist.”
The author of this crime is still free [Novaya Gazeta]
REFERENCES
Anna Politkovskaya — Wikipedia
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This Day in History– October 7 2006 : The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya
On This Day — The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya (October 7 2006)
On This Day — The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya (October 7 2006) [2019]
On This Day — The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya (October 7 2006) [2020]
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