Slaying of Russian reporter jolts nation

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MOSCOW -- The slaying of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya sent shock waves across Russia yesterday and raised fresh doubts about press freedoms under President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika took personal charge of the investigation into her shooting death Saturday at her Moscow apartment, citing the case's "particular importance and its wide resonance within society."

Press reports said police were focusing on footage from a security camera in the lobby of her apartment building that showed the suspected killer, a tall young man wearing dark clothing and a black baseball cap.

A 48-year-old mother of two, Mrs. Politkovskaya was the 13th reporter to die in a contract-style killing since Mr. Putin came to power, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Most have gone unsolved.

Mrs. Politkovskaya had gained recognition at home and abroad for her relentless reporting of human rights abuses in Russia, particularly in Chechnya. She was one of the few remaining journalists in Russia willing to report on abuses in the southern province and openly criticize Mr. Putin.

She had been repeatedly threatened and had fled to Vienna, Austria, in 2001, before returning to Moscow after several months. She was convinced that she had been poisoned on a flight to cover the 2004 school siege in Beslan, in which more than 330 people died when troops stormed a school held by Chechen rebels.

Mrs. Politkovskaya had said she fell unconscious after drinking a cup of tea during the flight and woke up in intensive care.

Her colleagues in Russia said they have no doubt Mrs. Politkovskaya's killing was connected with her work.

"There can be no other reason she died [than] because of her duties as a journalist. This was a politically motivated killing," said Vitaly Yaroshevsky, a deputy editor at Mrs. Politkovskaya's newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.

Mr. Yaroshevsky said that in the days before her death, Mrs. Politkovskaya had been working on a story documenting new cases of kidnapping and torture in Chechnya. It was to be published today.