Serghei Khadzhikurbanov, one of the five convicted of taking part in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was pardoned and released after enlisting and fighting in Ukraine.
The man regained his freedom after serving six months at the front, his lawyer, Alexei Mikhalchik, confirmed to the RBC newspaper.
After this period, he chose to sign a contract to remain in the armed forces. Khadzhikurbanov, a former agent of the department for combating organized crime , had been recognized as one of the organizers of Politkovskaya's murder, which occurred in Moscow in 2006, and had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement. He was supposed to finish serving his sentence in 2034.
“I think that in a certain sense, justice has been done, because I believe that Khadzhikurbanov was not involved in the killing of Anna Politkovskaya,” the lawyer added.
Investigative journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, famous for her investigations into the Russian war in Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya was killed in the elevator of her building.
Serghei Khadzhikurbanov allegedly provided logistical support to the crime. At the 2014 murder trial, Rustam Makhmudov was sentenced to life in prison for pulling the trigger. Uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev was also jailed for life. Makhmudov's two brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim, were sentenced to 14 and 12 years in a penal colony.
The instigator of the crime was never identified.
(Unioneonline/D)