The General Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee due to newly acquired evidence has determined new accomplices to the murder of a “Novaya gazeta” journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

On the investigators’ request, Lom-Ali Gaytukayev and Sergey Khadzhikurbanov have already been delivered from prisons to Moscow.

Today Gayutukayev will be charged with Anna Politkovskaya’s murder due to her professional activity committed by an organized contracted group (paragraphs “б,ж,з”, part 2, article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code). Khadzhikurbanov will be charged with the same crime. Besides, Rustam Makhmudov detained this spring in Chechnya and Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov who are given a written undertaking will face new charges. The investigators are planning to carry out necessary investigative actions with them.

As it had earlier been reported, the former police Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was charged within this case. The investigation has specified his role in the process of preparation and committing the crime. According to investigation in July 2006, Lom-ali Gaytukayev received an order from the unknown person to kill for money a “Novaya gazeta” journalist Anna Politkovskaya. For this purpose Gaytukayev organized a criminal group, consisting of Pavlyuchenkov, Gaytukayev’s nephews the Makhmudov’s brothers and a former Moscow Department to Combat Organized Crime detective Sergey Khadzhikurbanov released from prison in 2006.

As found by the investigation, Pavlyuchenkov who at the time was the head of the department of 4^th division of the Moscow General Internal Affairs Directorate which carried out external observation ordered his subordinates to watch the journalist in order to find out the way and time of her daily trips around the city. Pavlyuchenkov gave this information and the murder weapon to the killer Rustam Makhmudov and his accomplices, who had been carrying out surveillance over Anna Politkovskaya few days before the murder.

The murder was committed approximately at 4 p.m. on 7 October 2006. On that day Anna Politkovskaya, having parked her car next to the house on Lesnaya street, entered the elevator to get to her apartment. She was shot five times. After that the killer went out from the front door, got into the VAZ 21043 car waiting for him at “Novoslobodskaya” underground station and drove away togethter with his accomplices.

The investigation is continued. Investigative actions are under way to determine all accomplices of the murder including the contractor.