Editor's murder linked to Chechen

MOSCOW -- Prosecutors said Thursday they had solved the murder of U.S journalist Paul Klebnikov, linking his high-profile killing to a former Chechen separatist figure who was the subject of a critical book that he wrote.

Some observers remain skeptical about the Chechen connection, saying Klebnikov had delved deep into the still-murky post-Soviet business world in his work as the editor of Forbes magazine's Russian edition.

Klebnikov, a 41-year-old American of Russian descent, was gunned down in July 2004 outside Forbes' Moscow offices.

Vasiliy Lushchenko, a spokesman for the prosecutor general's office, said the murder was ordered by Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, a former deputy prime minister in Chechnya's separatist government.

But Oleg Panfilov, director of the Center of Journalism in Extreme Situations, cast doubt on the likelihood that Nukhayev was behind Klebnikov's killing. He suggested that prosecutors had announced a resolution to the case in hopes of heading off pressure from U.S. authorities, woh have been pushing Moscow to investigate the case thoroughly.

Alexander Gordeyev, a colleague from the Russian edition of Newsweek who came to Klebnikov's aid, said at the time that the dying journalist couldn't say who could have been behind the attack.

At the time, speculation was rife about a connection with Klebnikov's work at Forbes, which two months earlier had published a list of Russia's 100 wealthiest people that was said to have annoyed many in the nation's secretive business elite.

But there was also ample speculation on Klebnikov's book, "Conversations With a Barbarian," which cast Nukhayev and other Chechen rebels in a sharply negative light. The book was based on his interviews with Nukhayev.

"From the point of view of logic, the most obvious trail is the Chechen trail," said business commentator Yulia Latynina, who theorized that the book was seen by Nukhayev's circle as a stain on his honor.

But Oleg Panfilov, director of the Center of Journalism in Extreme Situations, cast doubt on the likelihood that Nukhayev was behind Klebnikov's killing.

"My main argument is that there have been lots of bad books written about Chechens," Panfilov said. "Why go after Klebnikov?"

He suggested that prosecutors had announced a resolution to the case in hopes of heading off pressure from U.S. authorities, who have been pushing Moscow to investigate the case thoroughly.

Klebnikov's brother, Michael, said the announcement was unexpected.

"It's somewhat surprising because our impression from speaking with Paul after he wrote his book was that Nukhayev was actually pleased with the book and did not react negatively to it," he told the AP.

"It's extremely important, if this is going to be the first case of 12 or 11 journalists that have been killed in the last five years to be presented in court, it's going to be extremely important that the prosecution do its job properly and that the evidence be solid," he said.

He reiterated the family's plea to the Russian government to involve U.S. law enforcement agencies in the investigation.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists is planning a conference in Moscow in July to focus on journalists who have been killed on the job, which Panfilov said could have provided another impetus to prosecutors to close the case.

Authorities have said two Chechens, Kazbek Dukuzov and Musa Vakhayev, were in custody. Investigators revealed last week that the two were also believed to have been involved in last year's slaying in Moscow of Yan Sergunin, a former official in Chechnya's Moscow-backed government.

Klebnikov also was widely known for a book about controversial tycoon Boris Berezovsky. After Klebnikov wrote a profile of him for Forbes in 1996, Berezovsky filed a libel suit against the magazine in Britain. He withdrew it in 2003 after the publication acknowledged it was wrong to allege he was involved in the murder of TV personality Vladislav Listyev.

A publishing house that worked with Klebnikov said the American had been investigating Listyev's killing.

Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, said Klebnikov might have made enemies because he probed corruption and sought to shed light on the closed world of Russian business.

"I think Paul Klebnikov was involved in some very sensitive journalistic investigations. Russia is a dangerous country for journalists. A lot of things are still secret," he said.