All the Suspected Killers of Politkovskaya Found Not Guilty

The jury acquitted all three men of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. Frankly, I was shocked to hear that news: this is a very unusual thing to happen in Russian courts and it’s yet more surprising since the investigation had been thought to be thorough.

Most probably, the detectives and prosecutors are to blame for this failure. The case was prepared badly by them and they had probably expected to manipulate the jury, as it is normally done at other trials. This may also be the reason for the judge’s attempt to close the process from the public.

Prosecutors will appeal and it’s still likely that the defendants will be punished at the end. But this jury’s verdict shows that the authorities show little capacity or will to find the murderers of Anna Politkovskaya.

Vaclav Havel Speaks in Support of Solidarity

Paranoia United

Paranoics appear to be similar everywhere. In Russia, we have some very active men and women who love to either write anonymous letters to FSB about them being “rayed” with invisible radiation by foreign spies or, vice versa, accuse FSB of using “psychotronic weapons” against people. In some cases, these people are not really on their own, they are supported by some government-aligned group and try to participate in the opposition rallies.

Today I got a junk mail from one such group from the USA. These guys do basically the same thing. Reading their letter is quite fun (if you leave alone the fact that these people are most probably suffering from a mental illness). Here is a portion of its text:

March Attacked

Saturday was marked by new protests in Moscow and in other cities. Oborona together with other movements organized a march in the center of Moscow. It was banned by the administration but the police failed to stop it. But some 20 mobsters attacked the participants, both men and women. The protesters offered resistance but several participants of the rally were wounded seriously. The police refused to investigate the incident.

The witnesses and victims of the attack speak out (English subtitles):