A man who damaged a memorial plaque on journalist Anna Politkovskaya's house in Moscow was fined 1,000 rubles. The Tverskoy District Court found Alexander Filippov guilty under Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (petty hooliganism).
Earlier, the neo-Nazi group NS/WP claimed responsibility for the destruction of a memorial plaque to Anna Politkovskaya. On January 18, vandals smashed a plaque bearing her name on Lesnaya Street in Moscow. Novaya Gazeta, where the journalist worked, announced its intention to seek criminal prosecution.
A memorial plaque to Anna Politkovskaya was installed on Lesnaya Street near the entrance to the building where she was killed on October 7, 2006, for her journalistic and human rights work. She wrote about human rights violations in Chechnya and criticized the Russian authorities. Several people were convicted in the journalist's murder, but those who masterminded the crime were never found. Politkovskaya's family and associates did not rule out the involvement of the Chechen authorities in her murder.
