Politkovskaya's family demands new evidence for retrial

Politkovskaya's family demands new evidence for retrial Moscow - The family of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in 2006, demanded new evidence for the retrial of her alleged murderers, the business daily Kommersant reported Friday.

"We have said since the beginning that the case was not handled carefully and thus the trial should not be discussed in court," Anna Stawizkaja, the lawyer for Politkovskaya's son and daughter told the Kommersant.

Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a retrial of four men previously acquitted of involvement in the killing of the investigative journalist.

The retrial will be held at the same Moscow court, but with other judges and jury, the Russian government daily Rossijskaja Gazeta reports Friday.

The Supreme Court's judges granted an appeal from the general prosecutor's office to overturn the February 19 acquittal, which was handed down by a jury in a lower Moscow court.

That jury had agreed with defence claims of insufficient evidence tying the four suspects to the crime.

Meanwhile, relatives and friends have expressed their concerns anew about the acquittal, arguing that the men are involved in the murder. The public prosecutor's office has failed to uncover a motive for the murder.

In addition, fellow journalists have criticized the fact that the mastermind, gunman and helpers to the crime have not been apprehended yet. They fear that the case will disappear without anyone ever coming to justice.

The Kremlin critic was gunned down in a contract-style killing in front of her Moscow apartment block in October 2006.

The award-winning Politkovskaya reported on human rights abuses by the Russian forces during two wars in Chechnya in the early 1990s.(dpa)