A Russian court today jailed two men for life for the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya while handing down sentences of between 12 and 20 years to three others.
Rustam Makhmudov of Chechnya, convicted of firing the fatal shots at Politkovskaya, and his uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, found guilty of organising the brazen hit, were jailed for life at Moscow city court, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Makhmudov's two brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim were sentenced to 14 and 12 years respectively in a penal colony for their roles in the killing, while former Moscow police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov was handed a 20-year term.
Politkovskaya, a reporter at liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta who had been a fierce critic of the Kremlin's tactics in Chechnya, was gunned down at age 48 in the lobby of her Moscow apartment block on October 7, 2006.
An earlier trial in the murder involving several of the same defendants ended in an acquittal in 2009. The supreme court overturned that decision and then eventually halted a retrial by the same court following a demand by Polikovskaya's family to allow further investigation into the case.
Almost eight years on, Politkovskaya's family and colleagues, while welcoming the outcome of the new trial, have voiced disappointment that investigators have yet to identify the mastermind behind the apparent contract killing.
"I will not be satisfied until those who ordered this crime face the same verdict," Politkovskaya's son Ilya said in televised comments after the sentencing.
Colleagues from Politkovskaya's newspaper echoed that call, saying that while the sentences were adequate none of "the main players" in the murder have been unmasked.
"It is impossible to say that you can now put a full stop on the investigation," said Novaya Gazeta deputy editor Sergei Sokolov. "The investigation must continue."
For its part the Investigative Committee pledged that they would press on with attempts to bring the mastermind of the shooting to justice.
