10 Arrested in Murder of Russian Journalist

MOSCOW — Ten people were arrested and will be charged soon in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian chief prosecutor said Monday.

"We have made serious progress in this case," Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks. "As of today, 10 people have been arrested, and literally in the nearest future they will be charged with the commission of this grave crime."

Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin who exposed human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in October.

Her killing drew international attention, compounding concern about the safety of journalists and Kremlin critics in Russia.

Chaika did not identify those arrested.

His remarks were the first announcement of arrests in the Oct. 7 killing, which Western governments have urged Russian authorities to solve. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists said 13 journalists have been killed in contract-style murders since Putin took office in 2000.

Politkovskaya's killing came less than two months before the radiation poisoning death in London of Kremlin critic and former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko, which further damaged Russian leadership's reputation abroad. Litvinenko blamed Putin on his deathbed.