February 20, 2009 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Feb 20th, 2009

200209.jpgTODAY: Responses to Politkovskaya verdict; Khodorkovsky to be moved to Moscow ahead of trial; Russia to supply grain to Brazil? US-Russia relations, reflections on Kyrgyz base closure; Medvedev reassures the military.

The unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict on the Anna Politkovskaya trial, reports the Moscow Times, ‘won praise from Politkovskaya’s family for not accepting what they called a poorly investigated case’, despite the fact that Politkovskaya’s son believes the suspects ‘were involved in the murder’.  Video from the close of the trial can be found here, and includes a statement from the defendents’ lawyer, Murat Musayev, who emphasised the importance of catching the ‘real criminals’.  The media freedom representative from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that Russia’s failure to solve cases such as Politkovskaya’s amounts to ‘a human rights crisis.  The US announced that it regretted that the murder remains unsolved.  Former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky will be moved to Moscow this month, ahead of his trial on March 3.