FSB officer charged in journalist's death

MOSCOW, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- An officer in the Russian Federal Security Service has reportedly been charged in connection to the slaying of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Citing a source close to the homicide investigation, Itar-Tass reported Wednesday that FSB Lt. Col. Pavel Ryaguzov has been charged with providing Politkovskaya's killers with her home address prior to her death in 2006.

"Charges have been officially brought against Ryaguzov within the framework of the case on the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist, under the article which deals with the abuse of office," the source told the news service. "The point in question is the episode, when he passed information about Politkovskaya’s place of residence to Shamil Burayev, former chief of the local administration of the Achkhoi-Martan district of Chechnya. Later Burayev passed the address to the murderers."

Politkovskaya was shot and killed Oct. 7, 2006, in her Moscow apartment building.

Itar-Tass said Ryagunov was detained by Russian authorities in September in connection wit the case.