By Matthew Champion.
The highest court in Russia has ordered the country's authorities to begin a new inquiry into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.
As the three-year anniversary of her murder approaches, no one has yet been convicted.
On Thursday the Russian supreme court sent the case back to the country's prosecutor general after a request from the journalist's family.
A second trial had already been ordered into her murder after three men, a fourth in absentia, were acquitted in connection with her death.
The acclaimed human rights journalist was gunned down in her Moscow apartment block in October 2006 and no one has ever been convicted over her death.
In February a court acquitted Chechnyan brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, as well as former policeman Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.
None of the men were charged with the actual murder, with the third Makhmudov brother, Rustam, the suspected gunman, yet to be apprehended.
Ms Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two, was a vocal critic of former president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's policies in Chechnya and its erosion of democratic freedoms across Russia.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in her death, but supporters insist a criminal trial is insufficient until the persons who ordered the killing are in the dock.
Her lawyer Karinna Moskalenko was cautiously optimistic about today's development.
'Whether the general prosecutor will use this opportunity, we don't know. We can only hope,' she said.
'So far, this hasn't happened. Three years have passed since this tragic event, and the truth still hasn't been uncovered.'
The journalist's paper, Novaya Gazeta, said: 'It is a very important step on the way towards investigating this crime.
'We are pleased there are still some people in Russia who recognise the law. We hope this will lead to a detailed examination of the case.'
The highest court in Russia has ordered the country's authorities to begin a new inquiry into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.
As the three-year anniversary of her murder approaches, no one has yet been convicted.
On Thursday the Russian supreme court sent the case back to the country's prosecutor general after a request from the journalist's family.
A second trial had already been ordered into her murder after three men, a fourth in absentia, were acquitted in connection with her death.
The acclaimed human rights journalist was gunned down in her Moscow apartment block in October 2006 and no one has ever been convicted over her death.
In February a court acquitted Chechnyan brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, as well as former policeman Sergei Khadzhikurbanov.
None of the men were charged with the actual murder, with the third Makhmudov brother, Rustam, the suspected gunman, yet to be apprehended.
Ms Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two, was a vocal critic of former president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's policies in Chechnya and its erosion of democratic freedoms across Russia.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in her death, but supporters insist a criminal trial is insufficient until the persons who ordered the killing are in the dock.
Her lawyer Karinna Moskalenko was cautiously optimistic about today's development.
'Whether the general prosecutor will use this opportunity, we don't know. We can only hope,' she said.
'So far, this hasn't happened. Three years have passed since this tragic event, and the truth still hasn't been uncovered.'
The journalist's paper, Novaya Gazeta, said: 'It is a very important step on the way towards investigating this crime.
'We are pleased there are still some people in Russia who recognise the law. We hope this will lead to a detailed examination of the case.'
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