Policeman sent to jail for part in murder plot

A MOSCOW judge yesterday sentenced a former police
officer to 11 years in prison
for his part in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, whom prosecutors claimed helped to track Ms Politkovskaya’s movements and
provided the gunman with a weapon, had struck a plea bargain that meant he qualified for a reduced sentence in exchange for his co-operation.

Ms Politkovskaya’s family
opposed the deal, which allowed Pavlyuchenkov to admit his guilt without testifying, on the grounds that it would not help find the masterminds of the
killing.

The alleged gunman and four other defendants will be tried separately.

Ms Politkovskaya, a sharp critic of Kremlin policies in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment building on
7 October, 2006.

Pavlyuchenkov was also fined three million rubles (£60,400).