ST PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) — The man suspected of the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been sought since 2001 for crimes committed in Russia, Russian public prosecutor Yuri Chaika said Wednesday.
"The suspect in this murder has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2001 for crimes committed in Russia," Chaika told journalists on the sidelines of a legal conference in St Petersburg.
"We don't know in which country he is," he added.
On Tuesday chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin said it was believed the alleged killer was in hiding somewhere in western Europe, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
Politkovskaya, a prominent critic of the Kremlin, was gunned down in October 2006, sparking outrage among Western governments and calls for Russia to address the issue of regular attacks on journalists.
The investigative committee said on June 18 this year it had wrapped up its case and three people had been charged in connection with the killing. In addition a member of the FSB security service had also been charged with extortion and abuse of office in connection with the inquiry.
But the prosecutor said the suspected gunman, Rustam Makhmudov, remained at large.
Politkovskaya did much of her hard-hitting work in Chechnya and media coverage of the investigation has focussed on a suspected Chechen link to the murder.
However former colleagues have voiced dissatisfaction at the inquiry, saying much remains unexplained.
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