New Moscow inquiry into journalist murder

Russia's Supreme Court today ordered a new investigation into the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskayapi, pictured.

It overruled a decision by a lower court to reject a plea from Politkovskaya's family to send the case back to prosecutors to track down those behind her death.

Politkovskaya, 48, a critic of the Kremlin who wrote about human rights abuses and corruption in Chechnya, was gunned down in Moscow three years ago. Her killer has never been brought to justice.

The Supreme Court returned the case against three suspects accused of minor involvement in the killing to prosecutors.

It ordered them to merge that case with the investigation into the gunman.

Politkovskaya's two children say justice will not be done until the gunman and the mastermind are caught and punished.

Sergei Sokolov, an editor at Politkovskaya's newspaper Novaya Gazeta, owned by Evening Standard proprietor Alexander Lebedev, said he was "cautiously optimistic" after the ruling.

"I hope the investigative team will take advantage of this ruling," he said.