Russia:Russian prosecutors have charged a former government official from the volatile Chechnya region as an accomplice in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Interfax news agency reported yesterday.
Prosecutors charged Shamil Burayev, former head of the administration of the Achkhoi-Martan region in Chechnya, his lawyer told the agency. He was detained earlier this month.
"Burayev has been charged for assisting in the murder," Interfax quoted his lawyer, Pyotr Kasakov, as saying. "The charges are part of the Politkovskaya murder case."
Mr Kasakov said prosecutors believe Mr Burayev found out Ms Politkovskaya's address and passed it on to other people involved in the murder. Mr Burayev says he is innocent.
Ms Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in her apartment building last October. Her murder provoked international condemnation.
- (Reuters)
