Conviction in Politkovskaya's murder case appealed against at SC, advocate reports

The advocate of one of the convicts in the murder case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya has already appealed against his client's verdict at the Russia's Supreme Court (SC).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 9 the Moscow City Court (MCC) passed a verdict on the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper. Four natives of Chechnya and a Moscow ex-militiaman were convicted. Lom-Ali Gaitukaev, who according to investigators had set up a criminal grouping, and Rustam Makhmudov, who was recognized as the gunman, were sentenced to life-long imprisonment. Other defendants received prison terms from 12 to 20 years.

"I've filed a brief complaint against the MCC's verdict; it will be supplemented after we receive the text of the judgment and the protocol of the court session," said Alexei Mikhalchik, the advocate of the ex-militiaman Sergey Khadjikurbanov, sentenced to 20 years in a high-security colony.

"As far as I know, my colleagues are also waiting for the text of the judgment in order to file their complaints," the advocate is quoted by the ITAR-TASS as saying.

Earlier, the lawyer Mikhalchik had announced his intention to appeal against the verdict, arguing that the defendants' rights to the defence were violated in the course of the trial.

See earlier reports: Children and colleagues of Anna Politkovskaya agree with outcomes of the trial, Court sentences defendants in Anna Politkovskaya's murder case to prison terms from 12 years to life imprisonment, Defence in Politkovskaya's murder case demands to nullify jury's verdict.