Three men have been charged for the killing of Russian journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 but the actual assassin remains at large, investigators said on Wednesday.
"Three suspects have been charged with the murder of the journalist: Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov," the investigations committee said in a statement announcing the completion of the inquiry.
Politkovskaya was shot dead outside her home in central Moscow on October 7, 2006. The murder sparked international outrage amid accusations from human rights groups that Russian authorities were failing to protect journalists.
"I have said many times that this is only the first part of the case," said Sergei Sokolov, deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta, the investigative newspaper where Politkovskaya worked, Interfax news agency reported.
"It's not over yet, there will be a second and a third part," Sokolov said.
The suspected gunman, Rustam Makhmudov, remains at large, a spokeswoman for the investigations committee said. Another man, former secret service officer Pavel Ryaguzov, was charged with abuse of power and extortion in connection with the inquiry.
Meanwhile all charges have been dropped against a former Chechen local government official, Shamil Burayev, who was arrested earlier in the investigation, the spokeswoman said.
