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A woman holds a portrait of Politkovskaya with the words reading "The Kremlin killed freedom of speech." (Reuters)
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MOSCOW— Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative
reporter gunned down in central Moscow on Saturday, had been in the
last stages of preparing an article on torture in Chechnya, her
newspaper said Sunday, October 8.
"We were expecting material for Monday's
issue. She said she would do it and was meant to write this, and
perhaps already had. It was about torture in Chechnya," Vitaly
Yaroshevsky, deputy editor at the bi-weekly Novaya Gazeta, said on NTV
television, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Dmitry Muratov, the editor, said: "She had
several most important photographs which showed all of this. This was
her material. It was going to be published in Monday's issue."
Although the newspaper was not in possession of a
finished article, "we have some of her notes and of course we
will partly publish this material", he said.
Politkovskaya, 48, was shot outside her apartment
building. The killer first fired in her chest, then finished her off
with a shot to the head.
Police confirmed that a leading theory was
"murder in connection with the victim's social or professional
duties."
In her last interview, given Thursday, October 5,
to US-run Radio Liberty, Politkovskaya announced she would be
appearing as a witness in a torture and abduction case allegedly
involving the Kremlin's controversial strongman in Chechnya, Ramzan
Kadyrov.
The journalist's funeral will take place in Moscow
on Tuesday, her newspaper said.
Chechnya, a tiny territory in Russia's Caucasus
mountains, declared independence in 1991 during the dying days of the
Soviet Union.
Moscow has fought two wars to regain control,
leading to the deaths of as many as 100,000 civilians and, according
to official figures, 10,000 Russian soldiers, as well as destroying
the economic infrastructure and the capital city Grozny.
International human rights watchdogs said in a
recent joint
statement that rape, torture and extrajudicial executions by
Russian troops have become everyday occurrences in Chechnya.
Condemnation
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A protester putting a mask reading 'Don't Keep Silent' during a rally on Pushkin square.
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The execution-style slaying of Politkovskaya, who
was almost alone in Russia's media to report war crimes in Chechnya,
has sparked outrage in Russia and abroad.
"The United States is shocked and profoundly
saddened by the brutal murder of independent Russian journalist Anna
Politkovskaya," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
in a statement on Saturday, October 7.
The European Union called the crime
"heinous."
The Council of Europe and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe likewise stressed the need for a
proper investigation, given Russia's poor record in resolving crimes
against reporters.
The former Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev,
part-owner of the newspaper where Politkovskaya worked, described her
killing as "savage" and "a blow to the entire
democratic, independent press."
Even Chechnya's Kremlin-backed president, Alu
Alkhanov, voiced regret at Politkovskaya's murder.
"Though our views on what is happening in
Chechnya were completely different, Politkovskaya was not indifferent
to the Chechen people's fate," Alkhanov said.
Joel Simon, director of the Committee to Protect
Journalists, described Russia as "one of the most murderous
places in the world for journalists and it has a long history of
impunity in these killings.
Politically Motivated
Politkovskaya's colleagues said this crime is
politically motivated.
"This crime cannot have been anything but
politically motivated," Lydmilla Alexeyeva at the Moscow Helsinki
human rights group said at a rally of several hundred people on
Moscow's Pushkin Square on Sunday.
"The Kremlin has killed free speech," and
"Putin: you will answer," read two of the placards at the
demonstration.
There was also condemnation from Russia's public
chamber, an officially backed civil society body which described her
murder as "a blow at the most important institution of democracy
-- free speech."
The mother of two grown-up children was almost the
last Russian journalist still covering human rights abuses by the
Russian forces during the more than decade-old conflict.
Politkovskaya had received death threats in the
past. she became ill with food-poisoning on her way to report on the
Beslan school siege in 2004, which some believed to be an attempt on
her life.
She had received several prizes for her daring
investigations, including the Russian Union of Journalists' Golden Pen
award and the Journalism and Democracy award from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe.
She was also the author of several books scathingly
critical of the Russian authorities, including "Dirty War: A
Russian reporter in Chechnya", and "Putin's Russia".
