14:01, 8 October 2018

OSCE calls on Russia to complete investigation into Politkovskaya's murder

Flowers at the portrait of Anna Politkovskaya. Photo by the Caucasian Knot correspondet

On the 12th anniversary of the death of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative in Europe, has voiced a call to bring to justice the persons who ordered her murder.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 17, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recognized as ineffective the investigation into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta". The ECtHR obliged the Russian authorities to pay compensation to family members of the killed journalist in the amount of 20,000 euros, since investigators failed to identify the person who ordered the murder. On October 5, CE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović called on Russia to find customers of Anna Politkovskaya's murder.

Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead near the elevator in the apartment building, where she lived in Moscow on October 7, 2006. She gave her last interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent an hour and a half before her death.

On the 12th anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir called on to bring to justice the persons who ordered the murder. "Despite the progress and assurances that have been made so far by the authorities on this case, I urge Russia to complete a full investigation, to ensure full accountability for those who commissioned the crime," stated Harlem Désir.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has also demanded to investigate all other deaths of journalists and "to hold the perpetrators and instigators of these crimes to account," reports the statement posted on the OSCE website on September 7.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 7, 2018 at 08:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.