Russia Becomes A 'Gangster State'

Sky News
Thursday, Feb 5, 2009

Democracy campaigners claim Russia has become a 'gangster state' after a human rights lawyer and a journalist were killed in broad daylight on a Moscow Street.

The murders are the latest in a series of attacks on the media.

Stanislav Markelov was one of Russia's most famous human rights lawyers.

The fearless 34-year-old had handled cases on military abuses in Chechnya and had also represented the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

He was killed by a hitman two weeks ago as he left a press conference.

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A 25-year-old journalist, Anastasia Baburova was also murdered. It appears she tried to stop the gunman as he casually left the scene.

Full article here