Russia closes Politkovskaya trial to public

Supporters of murdered Russian investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya criticised a judge's decision today to close to the …

Supporters of murdered Russian investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya criticised a judge's decision today to close to the public the trial of three men accused of helping to kill her.

Politkovskaya's family had pressed for the trial to be held in public, saying that was the only way to ensure justice was done in the politically-charged case.

The judge at Moscow's main military court overturned an earlier ruling that the trial be held in public, saying jurors had refused to enter the court room in the presence of reporters, a lawyer for Politkovskaya's family told Reuters.

"From our point of view, they were simply afraid of fulfilling their duty," said lawyer Karina Moskalenko. "I am deeply frustrated because the decision cannot be appealed against," she said.

READ MORE

"This is a disgraceful, secret, backroom decision, which will prevent society from getting acquainted with how the case is built," said Dmitry Muratov, the editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper where Politkovskaya worked.

"This is terrible. It simply will not do," Mr Muratov told Ekho Moskvy radio station. He said he would get round the ban on press coverage by publishing transcripts of the court proceedings in his newspaper.

Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two, was shot dead on October 7th, 2006 outside her flat in Moscow. She was a fierce critic of the Kremlin and reported on human rights abuses in Chechnya and elsewhere in Russia.

Her murder was one of the highest profile killings of former President Vladimir Putin's eight-year rule and highlighted the danger to reporters of working in Russia.