DRESDEN, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he will see to it that a thorough inquiry is carried out into the recent murder of a prominent investigative journalist.
Speaking to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin described the killing of Anna Politkovskaya as an "abominable crime," and said he will do his best to bring those behind it to justice.
"Whoever committed the crime and whatever motives those people were guided by, this is a crime abominable in its cruelty, and it must not go unpunished," Putin said.
Politkovskaya, 48, known for her staunch criticism of the Kremlin and its military campaign in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment block in Moscow last Saturday.
"This murder has inflicted far greater damage on the authorities than her [Politkovskaya's] articles did," Putin said.
The Russian Prosecutor General is overseeing an official investigation, with the main theory linking the murder to the journalist's work.
Politkovskaya's newspaper - Novaya Gazeta - has launched a probe of its own. Its publishers, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, have promised a reward of a little under $1 million for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
The violent death of Politkovskaya, laid to rest in Moscow Tuesday, has prompted world leaders and international human rights activists to call on the Russian authorities to ensure that this and other high-profile murders of journalists are solved.
According to Western press freedom organizations, Russia is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.
