Press and public unable to attend Politkovskaya murder trial

“Allowing the public and press to attend the trial is a good decision, given the importance of the case,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The murder victim was an outspoken and independent journalist who dedicated her professional life to making the public aware of aspects of reality that many people would have liked to cover up. We have a debt towards here. We owe her transparency in the investigation and in the trial of her murderers.” (Reporters Without Borders)

Yevgeny Zubov, the presiding judge in the trial of four men for the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya, has ruled that he will not allow the press or public to sit in during the trial. Two days before this ruling he posted the opposite, saying that press and public were granted access to the courtroom. Zubov claims that the jury had requested this action, saying they would not enter the courtroom as long as press were present. In an interview for independent radio Echo Moskvy today an anonymous juror denied claims that the jury itself had requested the press and public be banned from the hearings. He said they were presented with a document that if signed the press would be banned from the courtroom, but none of the jurors agreed to sign the document. This is just another sick twist in the case of Anna Politkovskaya and the four men on trial.