Russia
New Suspect in Politkovskaya MurderPosted Sep 20 2007
Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian newspaper, reported that a new suspect in the Politkovskaya murder was arrested while in Moscow on September 14. Shail Burayev, a former Chechan government official, has been charged by the Moscow Basmanny District Court on charges of “organizing a murder,” suggesting that he ordered her killing.
According to the AP, Burayev's involvement surfaced during former security officer's Ryaguzov's court case, in which Ryaguzov allegedly gave Politkovskaya's address to Burayev.
Burayev served as the head of the Achkhoi-Martan region of Chechnya from 1995 until he was fired in 2003, and ran for the country's presidency that same year.
This comes at the same time that the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy posthumously awarded the 2007 Press Freedom Award to Politkovskaya
The European Parliament will decide at their next plenary session on a proposition introduced by two Italian MEPs to name their pressroom after the murdered Russian journalist.
Related Links: Komsomolskaya Pravda, National Endowment for Democracy