Scratch two off the list of suspects in the Anna Politkovskaya’s murder. Yesterday, authorities released Alexei Berkin from police custody for lack of evidence. Prosecutors initially believed that Berkin was in league with the Chechen based Lasagna criminal gang (no really that’s what the article says ‘lasagna” Man, these guys really need to lay off the Italian mob flicks). Berkin couldn’t be reached for comment. His wife told Kommersant that he was out walking the baby. But she told reporters this, “We don’t want to relive this nightmare. He won’t tell you anything because he made a non-disclosure agreement [with the police].” Calls to Berkin’s mobile also went unanswered. Apparently, it is still in police custody.
Prosecutors also discovered that the alibi for another one of its suspects, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, was true. At the time of Politkovskaya’s murder, Khadzhikurbanov was in jail.
Way to go boys. Way to go.