Posted on 10/16/2008 8:04:48 AM PDT by Schnucki
The lawyer representing the family of Anna Politkovskaya, the murdered Russian journalist, was recovering from an apparent attempt to poison her as the trial opened today of three men accused of involvement in the killing.
A judge in Moscow rejected a request to postpone the preliminary hearing because Karinna Moskalenko was ill in France, where police are investigating the discovery of a large quantity of mercury in her car.
Ms Moskalenko also represents Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former Yukos founder, who is appealing againts a refusal to release him on parole after serving more than half of an eight-year prison sentence for fraud.
She told The Times that her husband had found large numbers of silvery metal globules under the seat of her car on Sunday, almost exactly two years after Mrs Politkovskaya’s death. She was waiting for the results of police tests to confirm whether she had been poisoned with mercury.
“The machinery of the state is probably now so angry with my activities, but I still don’t know whether we have grounds to link this to my work. I don’t know if it is a demonstrative act to threaten me,” she said from her home in Strasbourg.
“I am quite weak now and have been sick since Friday. I am really angry that I could not come to the Politkovskaya case, I was effectively prevented from coming.” The discovery has prompted speculation that she could have been the target of an attempt to silence her over the case. Exposure to high levels of mercury can damage the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, immune and nervous systems.
Mrs Politkovskaya was a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, then the President, and was killed on his birthday in October 2006 by a gunman outside her home. Mr Putin has denied
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Russia — your mission-critical software offshoring superstore.
The most telling fact is the absolute silence of western governments (the UK excepted) regarding acts outside of russia against putin critics. There was a guest on a US network last year (?) who said that anyone criticizing putin would be silenced, and he was shot in the groin 2 days later in an attack with no other motive in front of his house.
Prayers for the lady’s health.
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