Russian court won't halt Politkovskaya murder trial

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow military court on Friday turned down a petition by the family of murdered Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya intended to push authorities to find the unknown figure they believe ordered her shooting.

The judge refused to halt a retrial of three alleged accomplices in her murder, who were cleared at a first trial.

The family believe the retrial is a distraction from the hunt for a man on the run thought to have pulled the trigger, and further investigation into who might have ordered the hit.

State prosecutors and lawyers for the defense had supported the family's petition.

"We will appeal against this very strange decision by the military court," Ilya, Politkovskaya's son, told Reuters by telephone. "Everyone supported further investigation.

"We want further investigation and then one court for everyone involved from the killer to the person who really ordered the murder," he said.

Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two who published scathing exposes of official corruption and rights abuses, was shot as she returned to her central Moscow apartment block from the supermarket on October 7, 2006.

The United States and European Union have pressed the Kremlin to ensure the prosecution of her killers.

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After a four-month trial, a jury ruled in February that brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov were not guilty of acting as accomplices in the murder. The jury also cleared former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov of any role.

The supreme court in June ordered a retrial, a decision criticized by Politkovskaya's family who said it would distract attention from the failure of the Russian authorities to bring proceedings against the hypothetical mastermind.

The defendants' lawyer Murad Musayev said on Friday he had supported the family's petition and his clients were innocent.

The man prosecutors say pulled the trigger, Rustam Makhmudov, is on the run. No one has been charged with ordering the killing.

The media rights group Reporters Without Borders criticized Friday's ruling.

"This decision serves to confirm that nothing can be expected from this retrial," it said. "No light will be shed on the many questions left unanswered by the original trial. The retrial will be nothing more than an empty formality."

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Politkovskaya's murder and prosecutors have said the killing was an attempt to discredit Russia.

Vladimir Putin, president at the time of the killing and now prime minister, has said Russia is committed to solving the crime.

The murder raised concerns about the safety of reporters who challenge the Russian authorities.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists ranks Russia as the world's third most dangerous place for reporters, after Iraq and Algeria. It says 50 reporters have been killed in Russia since 1992.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; additional reporting by Conor Sweeney; editing by Andrew Roche)