In Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya's murder is called an act of political terrorism

Chechnya citizens are shocked and indignant with the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a well-known Russian journalist, whom many of them considered to be "their close person," the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" reports.

According to the poll conducted in Grozny by the NGO "Council of Non-Governmental Organizations" (CNGO), nine of every ten respondents directly link Politkovskaya's murder with her professional activities and publications on what happens in Chechnya.

"Anna Politkovskaya was one of few Russian journalists who are indeed respected and loved in the Republic. Therefore, her murder was taken close to the heart by many people in the country. Many, myself including, thought of her as of a close person. She knew so nicely what was happening here," Taisa Issaeva, Director of the CNGO's Information Centre, explained.

"Despite a widespread opinion, Anna was interested not only in the events related to mass violations of Chechnya citizens' rights and freedoms. Literally two weeks ago, she phoned to us and asked for telephone numbers of medical specialists. The reason was her intention to write an article on a sharp growth of oncology diseases and tuberculoses in the territory of our Republic. And the situation in this sphere here is just terrible," she says. "Having murdered Politkovskaya, they've let us know that nobody in this country is allowed to tell the truth."

"I think of Anna Politkovskaya's murder as of an act of political terrorism," asserts Usam Masaev, a 4th year student of the Legal Department of the Chechnya State University. "Her reports on Chechnya and materials on other burning issues were disliked by many and many from the prevailing authorities".

We remind you that Anna Politkovskaya, a "Novaya Gazeta" journalist, who was shot dead on Saturday, October 7, a bit later than 4 p.m. in the doorway of the apartment block where she lived in the Lesnaya Street, was famous, first of all, for her materials on Chechnya and North Caucasus. The last interview in her live, given almost an hour before the murder to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot," was also on the Chechen topic, namely, the carrier perspective of Ramzan Kadyrov, Prime Minister of Chechnya, and extortion of money from Republic's citizens, committed under his guidance.