A Moscow court has given life sentences for two men who killed Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.
They were among five men convicted of the crime last month.
Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter and vocal critic of Russia’s war in Chechnya, was shot in a lift in her block of flats.
Three of the men had earlier been acquitted but Russia’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial. Investigators have not determined who ordered the killing.
Anna Politkovskaya’s reporting for Novaya Gazeta newspaper won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya
Rustam Makhmudov was given a life sentence for pulling the trigger.
His uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, one of those found guilty of organizing the murder, was also jailed for life.
The three others convicted of the killing – two of whom are Rustam Makhmudov’s brothers – were given between 12 and 20 years in prison.
The prosecution had pushed for tougher sentences.
Anna Politkovskaya’s reporting for Novaya Gazeta newspaper won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya.
But her pieces, which were highly critical of President Vladimir Putin, then serving his second term, and the Chechen leadership, angered many in authority.
Last year a former police officer, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for supplying the murder weapon.
Anna Politkovskaya’s family say they will continue to campaign until the person who ordered the killing is uncovered.
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Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a former Russian police officer, has been jailed for 11 years for his role in the murder of prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was found guilty by a court in Moscow of tracking Anna Politkovskaya’s movements and providing the killer with a gun.
He struck a plea bargain to qualify for a reduced sentence.
Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was tried separately from five other men accused of the 2006 murder, which shocked human rights campaigners.
The court also ordered Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov to pay 3 million rubles ($97,500) in compensation to Anna Politkovskaya’s children.
Anna Politkovskaya’s family had demanded 10 million rubles.
After the verdict, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was immediately led away from the courtroom by guards.
Anna Politkovskaya’s family had opposed the plea bargain, under which Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was allowed to admit his guilt without testifying.
The other defendants include three members of the same Chechen family: Rustam Makhmudov, who is accused of firing the fatal shots, and his brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim, who are accused of acting as getaway drivers.
All three men were tried and acquitted for lack of evidence in 2009 but the verdict was overturned by Russia’s supreme court, which ordered them to be retried.
Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a former Russian police officer, has been jailed for 11 years for his role in the murder of prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya
The prosecutors said Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was part of the gang formed by Chechen crime boss, Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who was himself allegedly in the pay of an unidentified mastermind.
Lom-Ali Gaitukayev was arrested in 2007 in a separate case and is currently serving a jail sentence for the attempted murder of a businessman. He was charged over the Politkovskaya murder last year.
Another former police officer, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, has been charged with providing logistical support in the crime.
Anna Politkovskaya was an investigative journalist who wrote highly critical reports on the Kremlin and of Russian military actions in Chechnya.
On 7 October 2006, she was found shot dead in a lift at her block of flats in Moscow.
At the time, the 48-year-old was working for a small-circulation Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, known for its fierce attacks on the country’s authorities.
Anna Politkovskaya’s brutal murder shocked the media in Russia and abroad, and led to calls for better protection of journalists in the country.
The late journalist’s family had argued in vain that the plea bargain would not help establish who had ultimately ordered the murder.
Their lawyer said they would appeal against Friday’s verdict for being too lenient.
Novaya Gazeta’s editor-in-chief said earlier there was a “political taboo” on identifying the person who had ordered the killing.
Dmitry Muratov said he wanted any plea-bargaining in the case to require that suspects name this person.
