{"id":26563,"date":"2023-11-14T08:24:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T13:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=26563"},"modified":"2023-11-14T08:24:57","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T13:24:57","slug":"russian-convicted-of-journalist-murder-gets-pardon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/11\/14\/russian-convicted-of-journalist-murder-gets-pardon\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian convicted of journalist murder gets pardon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of the men convicted over the 2006 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been pardoned after fighting in Ukraine, his lawyer says.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former Moscow police officer, was jailed for 20 years at a trial in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But his lawyer, Alexei Mikhalchik, said he had now received a presidential pardon after completing a six-month military contract.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He was one of five people convicted of the crime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter and vocal critic of Russia’s war in Chechnya, was shot in a lift in her block of flats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Her reporting for Novaya Gazeta newspaper won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But her pieces, which were highly critical of President Vladimir Putin, then serving his second term, and the Chechen leadership, angered many in authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Khadzhikurbanov was found guilty of providing logistical support for the murder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“As a special forces fighter, [Khadzhikurbanov] was invited to sign a contract to participate in the special military operation,” his lawyer told AFP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“When the contract expired, he was pardoned by presidential decree.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Russian defence ministry has been recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, apparently taking over from the Wagner mercenary group which was the first to adopt the practice last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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