MOSCOW, August 15 (RAPSI) - Dzhabrail Makhmudov, one of the accused in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the leg, his lawyer Murad Musayev wrote on his Facebook page.

Later he specified that Makhmudov took a bullet to the left thigh, and subsequently underwent an operation.

Novaya Gazeta newspaper journalist Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Her murder has been linked by some experts to her coverage of human rights abuses in Chechnya.

In addition to Makhmudov, the five suspects – who have pleaded not guilty – include his brothers Rustam and Ibragim and their uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, as well as former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.

A sixth suspect, former police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who earlier signed a plea bargain, gave evidence against his accomplices and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2012.

The investigators believe that Rustam Makhmudov committed the murder with the help of his brothers, their uncle and Khadzhikurbanov.

Three of the five suspects – Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov and Khadzhikurbanov – were tried and acquitted in a jury trial in 2009. The Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial. Prosecutors have failed to identify the mastermind behind the killing.