VS en EU willen onderzoek naar moord op Russische journaliste (en)

The EU and US have called for an investigation into the murder of celebrated anti-Kremlin reporter Anna Politkovskaya, as tributes, condemnations and conspiracy theories begin to mount over the killing. "The [EU] presidency calls for a thorough investigation of this heinous crime and the bringing of its perpetrators to justice," EU chair Finland said after the shooting on Saturday (7 October) afternoon.

"The United States urges the Russian government to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation in order to find, prosecute, and bring to justice all those responsible for this heinous murder," Washington said, using the same words. Russian prosecutors have launched a probe into the shooting and Ms Politkovskaya's newspaper - the independent Novaya Gazeta - has put up a $1 million reward for information. But little is likely to come of the efforts based on past form.

Since president Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999, nobody has been brought to justice in the murders and disappearances of 19 reporters, with Mr Putin conspicuous by his silence in the Politkovskaya case so far. Meanwhile, tributes to the 48-year old mother-of-two have come in from the Finnish, Belgian and French foreign ministers, the Council of Europe and major NGOs such as Reporters Sans Frontiers, Amnesty International and Freedom House.

"I knew Anna Politkovskaya personally and greatly respected her work and courage. This sort of bloody act is also directed against freedom of speech," Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja said, Finnish media report. Inside Russia, over 500 gathered in Moscow and the Chechen capital Grozny on Sunday night in rare protests calling for freedom of the press, carrying slogans such as "Don't be silent", Russian media report.

Ms Politkovskaya was about to publish an article on torture by pro-Moscow Chechen prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov's personal militia - the so-called "kadyrovtsy" - before she was executed in her hallway with a gunshot to the head. Some of her fellow Russian journalists believe the murder could have been a birthday present for either Mr Putin, who turned 54 on the day of the shooting, or Mr Kadyrov, who turned 30 last Thursday.

Another theory cited by NGO leaders in The Times says the killing is designed to damage Mr Kadyrov's profile, with the Kremlin opposed to him becoming president in the North Caucasus republic.

But a commentator on state-owned TV station Channel One said the killing is an "an attempt to provoke an Orange Revolution" in Russia by outside forces keen to stir up anti-government feeling. Ms Politkovskaya's death comes after anti-corruption activist and Russian central bank official Andrei Kozlov was assassinated in September, with the high-profile killings reminiscent of the wild days of post-Soviet 1990s Russia.

The deaths embarrass president Putin's effort to project Russia as a responsible G8 member and transitional market economy, with the Russian leader set to meet EU counterparts for dinner at an informal summit in Lahti, Finland on 20 October.