The firearm from which Politkovskaya was shot dead has woman's DNA traces

The experts who conducted a repeated examination of the pistol, with which Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta", was killed, have found a woman's DNA traces, said Murad Musaev, the advocate of Rustam Makhmudov, who is considered by investigators to be the gunman.

According to Murad Musaev, the traces of sweat on the spring-and-return mechanism of the pistol were discovered long ago, but earlier, experts only concluded that the DNA traces mismatched Makhmudov's genetic code. The repeated examination, according to the lawyer, gave a new result.

"The previous expert's conclusion did not mention it; however, there were always doubts that the gunman was a male. Some video frames give clear features of a female posture," said Musaev.

The lawyer believes that the new examination data will prove Rustam Makhmudov's innocence in this crime, the "Interfax" reports.

The detection of traces of female's DNA was confirmed by a law enforcement source. "In the course of the repeated examination of the firearm, traces of a woman's DNA were detected on the pistol," the RAPSI (Russian Legal Information Agency) quotes the source.