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Politkovskaya murder trial starts in Russia

By Moscow correspondent Scott Bevan

Posted October 16, 2008 07:27:00

Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead just over two years ago.

Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead just over two years ago. (AFP Images)

The trial of three men charged with involvement in the murder of prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has begun in Moscow.

There are calls for the trial to be open to the public.

Ms Politkovskaya was an investigative journalist renowned for her reports from Chechnya.

She was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment just over two years ago.

Three men are now on trial for their alleged involvement in her murder.

The judge has reportedly indicated this is to be a closed trial, because of secret material involved in the case.

But lawyers for the defendants and the journalist's family, as well as her former colleagues, want the hearings to be open, with one saying it's in the public interest.

Politkovskaya's supporters say whatever the verdicts in this trial, the crime still will not be solved, as the search for who ever ordered the journalist's killing continues.

Tags: law-crime-and-justice, crime, courts-and-trials, murder-and-manslaughter, russian-federation

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