Life in prison for Anna Politkovskaya's murderers

Russia has sentenced two people to prison for life over the 2006 assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Although five men were convicted, in total, only Rustam Makhmudov, who did the actual shooting, and his uncle, Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who organized the logistics of the murder, had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Moscow judge.

However, the person who ordered the killing of the journalist is still free and unknown as Investigative Committee spokesperson Vladimir Markin explains: 'The investigative committee continues its work to find out who ordered the murder. Unfortunately, a lot depends on our foreign colleagues, especially in Great Britain and Turkey. We’ve made a number of inquiries, but have not yet received a response.'

The other three people accused of killing Politkovskaya are Makhmudov's brothers, who received 12 and 14, respectively, years of imprisonment for tracking the journalist and a fith one who is a former policemen and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping prepare the murder.

Anna Politkovskaya, 48, was gunned down in her apartment building in 2006. As a journalist, she focused on revealing state corruption and abuses of power and rights. Her murder raised questions regarding the dangers involved in criticizing or exposing the Kremlin.