List of Politkovskaya petition signatories handed over to head of PACE

A list of 12,175 signatories to a petition calling for an international investigation into the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was handed over to René van der Linden, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), by Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard today in Paris. “The more than twelve thousand people who have so far signed this petition is evidence of the scale of the public reaction to Politkovskaya's murder,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The petition has also won the support of leading European personalities such as International Criminal Court prosecutor Carla del Ponte, European Parliament foreign affairs commission chairman Elmar Brok, Spanish high court judge Baltasar Garzón, European Parliament foreign affairs commission member Bronislaw Geremek, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë and Rome mayor Walter Veltroni.” Reporters Without Borders added: “This campaign must go on. We call on the authorities of democratic countries to keep asking Russian President Vladimir Putin how the investigation into Politkovskaya's murder is progressing.” Politkovskaya was gunned down in her central Moscow apartment building on 7 October. A reporter for the biweekly Novaya Gazeta since 1999, she was acclaimed internationally for her courage and professionalism. More than 200 specialists are reportedly taking part in the Russian investigation into her murder.