Russia pardons murderer of key journalist after war service

Moscow [Russia], November 15: One of the men convicted of murdering Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been pardoned following his front-line service in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Sergei Khadzhikurbanov's pardon was confirmed to the Russian news site RBK by the lawyer of the former police officer, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014.
Politkovskaya, an award-winning journalist critical of the Kremlin, was shot dead outside her flat on October 7, 2006. She was 48 years old.
After a long investigation, several men from the Russian republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus were convicted in 2014.
The family and ex-colleagues of the journalist suspect a political motive and are still demanding a full investigation into the killing.
Politkovskaya had worked for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which was critical of the Kremlin and shut down in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. She had been reporting on human rights abuses in Chechnya at the time of her killing.
In a comment to Russian media, Novaya Gazeta's co-founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov described the pardon as a systematic disregard for the rights of the victims by the state.
Politkovskaya's two children issued a statement that called the pardon an "outrageous fact of injustice and arbitrariness." The Russian news outlet Baza posted on its Telegram channel that the ex-policeman convicted of organizing the murder was sent to the Russian-Ukrainian front at the end of 2022.
After six months, Khadzhikurbanov is said to have extended his contract with the Defence Ministry. It is not known exactly where he is currently deployed.
The Russian army suffered heavy losses in the first months of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a recruitment campaign of prison inmates was launched to fill the army's ranks.
Criminals - including many who had carried out serious violent crimes - were promised their freedom in return for military service.
Russia has been waging a war against neighbouring Ukraine for more than 20 months.
In Brussels, the European Commission announced on Tuesday the European Union would provide another ?110 million ($117.9 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.
"As Russia's missiles wreak havoc in Ukraine, the humanitarian community must be ready to assist the most vulnerable people affected during harsh winter months," said EU Crisis Commissioner JanezLenarcic.
The new funding is meant to finance cash assistance, food, water, shelter, healthcare, psychosocial support and protection, the commission said. The EU is also to send additional power generators to Ukraine.
The head of the Ukrainian president's office has expressed hope for a turning point in his country's defence against Russia's invasion.
"The next year will be decisive," AndriyYermak said in a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Monday.
Russia's air superiority must be broken, he said, and to do this, Kiev needs more air defence weapons from its allies.
"I'll tell you the truth: this winter will be tough for us as well," Yermak said, referring to Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian energy grid last winter. Kiev has repeatedly expressed fears that new attacks by Moscow, particularly on substations, could again cause prolonged power outages this winter.
Source: Qatar Tribune