Putin Pardons Convict Linked to Politkovskaya Murder

Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted a pardon to Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, a former policeman sentenced to 20 years for orchestrating the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. This decision follows Khadzhikurbanov's involvement in military actions in Ukraine.

Khadzhikurbanov, once a detective in Russia's Department of Combating Organized Crime, was identified as an intermediary in Politkovskaya's murder, which occurred on October 7, 2006—Putin's birthday. Politkovskaya was a prominent critic of Putin, known for exposing high-level corruption in Russia and human rights violations in Chechnya.

Reports from the Telegram channel BAZA and publication RBC indicate Khadzhikurbanov's six-month participation in the war in Ukraine—a duration coinciding with the period required for pardoning convicted prisoners. Despite receiving amnesty, he chose to remain at the front.

The brutal murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist for Nova Gazeta, unfolded in 2006 within the confines of her Moscow apartment building's elevator. Her investigative work highlighted Chechen authorities' use of torture, adding to the scrutiny on Putin's administration.

While five individuals were convicted in 2014 for their roles in Politkovskaya's murder, the case reached a statute of limitations in October 2021, with the mastermind never brought to justice.

Politkovskaya's colleagues and relatives assert that the Russian government refrains from revealing the true orchestrators, as a thorough investigation would implicate Putin's administration in her assassination.