Journalist''s death to be probed by her own paper – Gorbachev

     Former  Soviet  President  Mikhail Gorbachev,  a shareholder in the Russian  semi-weekly Novaya Gazeta, said the paper  would  "undoubtedly"  conduct  its own investigation into the death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who worked for the paper and who was found shot dead on Saturday.
     "It is a savage crime against a professional and serious journalist and a courageous   woman.  It  is  a  blow  to  the  entire  democratic, independent  press, it is a grave crime against the country, against all of us," Gorbachev told Interfax.
     "Again  there  is  somebody  who wants to cast a shadow both on the leadership  of the country and on the positive processes that are taking place in the North Caucasus," he said.
     "Undoubtedly,  the newspaper will carry out its own investigation," Gorbachev  said.  "I  think we'll find the resources to remunerate those who will help the investigators," he said.
     "Democracy and the free press need to be defended," said Gorbachev, who bought shares in Novaya Gazeta in summer 2006.

Interfax, 07.10.2006