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August 30, 2007

Two Suspects In Politkovskaya Case Reportedly Released

Law enforcement officials are implicated in Anna Politkovskaya's murder (file photo) (Courtesy Photo)

August 30, 2007 -- Russian media reports say prosecutors have released two suspects in the killing of investigative journalist and outspoken Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya.


The reports say a third suspect is no longer linked to the case, and that a fourth suspect could not have been involved in the murder because he had been in prison when Politkovskaya was killed in Moscow on October 7, 2006.


Prosecutors on August 27 announced the arrests of 10 people, including several law enforcement officers, in connection with the crime.


The Prosecutor-General's Office today refused to comment on the reports that two suspects have since been released.


A Moscow district military court spokesman said a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who had been named among the suspects was still being held, but his arrest was not connected to Politkovskaya's killing.


Murad Musayev, a lawyer for one of the suspects, on August 29 told RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service that the case is "far from solved," and accused prosecutors of scare-mongering.


A rally in memory of Politkovskaya is scheduled to be held in the center of Moscow today, marking what would have been Politkovskaya's 49th birthday. 


(AP, RIA Novosti, BBC in Russian)


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