AP: Formal charges were filed Wednesday against 4 men accused in connection with the 2006 killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Russian investigators said. 3 men were charged with involvement in Polikovskaya's murder while an FSB officer from faces charges of extortion and abuse of office. The 4 have been held since their arrests last Aug.
1 suspect, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, is a former police officer. Two others, brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, are from Chechnya. The committee said the charges against the FSB officer, Lt. Col. Pavel Ryaguzov, relate to other crimes. It wasn't immediately clear whether Wednesday's charges were somehow connected to Politkovskya's murder. Authorities previously have accused Ryaguzov of giving Politkovskaya's killers her address.
Russian officials have alleged that Politkovskaya's killing was ordered by someone living outside Russia with the aim of discrediting the Kremlin -- statements that have been interpreted as alluding to Boris Berezovsky. Novaya Gazeta has said the mastermind is likely in Russia.
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