SIA CHECHENPRESS 29, August 2007
THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIA
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRESS RELEASE
THE KREMLIN’S GRAND DECEPTION
Akhmed Zakayev: The arrest of 10 suspects and finger pointing at foreign exiles cannot hide the state’s involvement in the death of Anna Politkovskaya
Today, Akhmed Zakayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, dismissed the arrests and accusations of involvement from a Russian citizen living abroad.
“The announcement yesterday by Russia’s chief Prosecutor, Yuri Chaika, that 10 people had been arrested in connection with the murder of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya was laced with inconsistency and falsification. The arrests feed into the narrative sown by the Putin government since Politkovskaya’s murder, falsely blaming rogue FSB elements, the Chechen Mafia and now, preposterously, an unnamed Russian exile in London."
“The actions of Mr Chaika, Russia’s chief prosecutor, are pure theatre. There is no truth in his allegations and the arrests are motivated by pure real politic not hard evidence."
“Hidden behind the charade is the real culprit, the Russian Administration in the Kremlin and Chechen forces controlled by them – the very people Anna Politkovskaya spent her career trying to expose."
“Anna Politkovskaya was killed by Putin’s Russia to silence her and send a signal to all those trying to highlight the plight of the Chechen people who live in fear and poverty under the shadow of the Kremlin."
“Anna Politkovskaya was a champion of political freedom and human rights in a country that has regressed back into an authoritarian state under Vladimir Putin’s rule. Her work in exposing human rights abuses and war crimes in Chechnya brought the plight of the Chechen people to the world’s attention and made her a critical target for the Putin government. It is no surprise her death came weeks before she was scheduled to publish an article on torture and kidnapping in Chechnya by pro-government gangs.”
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