Man convicted of killing Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya pardoned

Nov. 14 (UPI) -- A man convicted of killing Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was pardoned after fighting in Ukraine alongside Russian forces, his lawyer said Tuesday.

In 2014, Sergie Khadzhikurbanov was convicted and sentenced to 20 years over the 2006 slaying of Politkovskaya in her Moscow apartment building. Four other people were also convicted in connection to the killing.

Politkovskaya covered the Second Chechen War and was a harsh critic of the Russian government under Vladimir Putin and war crimes that were committed during the conflict.

Khadzhikurbanov's lawyer said he was pardoned after a six-month deployment to Ukraine with Russian forces.

The Wagner mercenary group, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in August, is known to recruit fighters from Russian prisons, though it is not clear if Khadzhikurbanov was deployed with Wagner or another unit.

Wagner was so open about their recruitment from prisons that Prighozin allowed himself to be filmed offering prisoners freedom in exchange for fighting with his group.

Politkovskaya's former employer, Novaya Gazeta, and her children, Ilya and Vera, released a joint statement criticizing the pardon.

"Do not hide behind your law, in which the judicial hammers, which have already made holes," the statement read. "This is a monstrous fact of injustice and arbitrariness, abuse of the memory of a person killed for his beliefs and performance of professional duty."

"There's nothing to comment on here. There's no one to demand from. It is pointless to seek justice -- it was closed in a punishment cell for discrediting the authorities," the statement continued.