A jury acquitted three men who were charged with the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya which is not surprising given the manner in which justice is dispensed in Putin Russia. The 12 member jury’s decision was unanimous and it was greeted by cheers in the court room. It took the jury all of two hours to find the defendants really didn’t kill anyone and as they left the men shook the hand of the slain journalist’s son who was critical of the entire investigation of the murder. After the men left the courtroom, Ilya told reporters: “I believe these men are involved in the murder of my mother.”
A lawyer for the Politkovskaya family expressed concern that authorities had done a poor investigation and they were not interested in securing a conviction. This is Putin Russia and the quest for justice is never the highest priority of those in power. Several fighters for human rights have been murdered in recent years and it is rare for any of their killer to be convicted of anything.
