Further inquiry in journalist slaying

MOSCOW, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Russia's Supreme Court returned the case of slain investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya to prosecutors Thursday for further inquiry, court officials said.

Politkovskaya, a reporter for Novaya Gazeta who gained international recognition for stories on alleged atrocities against civilians in Chechnya, was gunned down in an elevator in her Moscow apartment building in October 2006. Police called it a contract killing.

Relatives of the slain woman had appealed to the court to return the case to prosecutors for a new investigation. The high court had ordered a new trial after overturning innocent verdicts against three suspects in the case but relatives called for an expanded investigation.

The reputed killer is still at large, police say.