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A man arrested in connection with the shooting of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been formally charged with her murder, according to reports.

Rustam Makhmudov was arrested on Tuesday in Chechnya on suspicion of killing Politkovskaya in 2006.

According to Russian news agency Ria Novosti, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee said that investigators "have now gathered enough evidence to prove his guilt".

"Makhmudov also committed a series of other crimes in the mid-1990s in Moscow, including kidnapping and extortion," the statement added.

Politkovskaya was shot in her apartment building in 2006. Four men – including two of Makhmudov's brothers – were arrested in February 2009 and charged with aiding the killer as lookout and getaway driver. A third defendant, a former policeman, was charged with supplying the murder weapon. All four men were acquitted.

Then in June 2009 Russia's supreme court overturned the verdict and ordered a fresh investigation.

Politkovskaya was a columnist for bi-weekly newspaper Novaya Gazeta at the time of her death. She rose to prominence for her investigative coverage of Chechnya, along with other social issues in the country.

She also published several books on the situation in Chechnya and on Vladimir Putin, the current prime minister of Russia who was president at the time of Politkovskaya's death.

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Written by
Joel Gunter

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