Leipzig/Moscow, 24 July, 2013. Today, almost seven years after the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, five men were charged with her murder in Moscow. The Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig welcomes the news that this despicable murder is finally being prosecuted. The Foundation hopes that this new trial will shed light on the background of the crime. In the dock are the alleged shooter, his alleged accomplices and the person who allegedly planned the murder. But the person who ordered the murder appears to be still unknown.
The editor in chief of the Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper for which Anna Politkovskaya worked, and which is critical of the regime, expressed reservations when speaking with members of the international media, saying that he lacked confidence in the trial. The first trial for the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, in 2009, ended in an acquittal due to a "lack of evidence." Nevertheless, Russia's Supreme Court subsequently ordered the new trial, which has now begun.
Anna Politkovskaya uncovered severe violations of human rights in the Chechen conflict, as a result of which she faced repeated death threats. For her unintimidated and solid reporting, she was awarded the "Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media" by the Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig in October 2005. One year later, on 6 October 2006, she was murdered in her Moscow apartment building.