[JURIST] Portions of an article on torture in Chechnya [BBC backgrounder] written by murdered reporter Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary] before her death were published Thursday by the Novaya Gazeta [media website, in Russian]. The report detailed allegations of torture, including one man who said he was hung from a ceiling and beaten by security officials during questioning about a murder. The article also included four photos that appear to show a man with a bloody face.

Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov [Wikipedia profile] has denied involvement in Politkovskaya's murder. Her death is a suspected contract killing because it occurred shortly after she said in a radio interview that she was working on a story about torture by Chechen forces with ties to Moscow. Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika [official website, in Russian] has taken over the investigation [JURIST report] of her murder. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to bring Politkovskaya's killers to justice, a promise which has been met with skepticism [AFP report] by journalists. AFP has more.