MOSCOW, April 18 (RAPSI) - The pre-trial investigation has been completed in the Anna Politkovskaya murder case against five defendants, the Investigative Committee reported today.

The persons involved are Sergei Khadzhukurbanov, three brothers Rustam Makhmudov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov and Ibragim Makhmudov, their uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev and former police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov who agreed to a plea bargain, was tried and sentenced by the Moscow City Court to 11 years in prison.

The court reports that the criminal case has been referred to the Prosecutor General's Office for the indictment to be approved and passed on for trial.

The report also says that the investigation has yet to name those who hired the killers and other persons involved.

Politkovskaya, a journalist for the Novaya Gazeta opposition newspaper, was shot dead in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Her murder is believed to be linked to her groundbreaking coverage of human rights abuses in Chechnya. She was also a passionate critic of the Kremlin.

Lom-Ali Gaitukayev is accused of having organized the murder and of having hired three relatives to help him - the Makhmudov brothers Rustam, Ibragim and Dzhabrail, as well as a former police official, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.