MOSCOW: Thousands of mourners, including western ambassadors, gathered on Tuesday at the funeral of Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent reporter and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin whose murder fuelled international condemnation.

Anna Politkovskaya, 48, was shot dead on Saturday at her apartment block in central Moscow in a killing prosecutors linked to her work. She won prominence in Russia for her vigorous defence of human rights and criticism of the government’s policies, in particular its conduct of a brutal war against Chechen guerillas.

Mr Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dresden that the murder was an unacceptable crime which would be punished.

Ms Merkel told reporters Mr Putin had told her he aimed to do everything possible to clear up the murder.

Ms Politkovskaya’s death drew condemnation from world leaders, including US President George Bush, and international organisations who demanded a thorough investigation.

French President Jacques Chirac sent a letter to Politkovskaya’s two children.

“The hateful murder of your mother ... has shocked me just as it has shocked all the French and all those who defend press freedom,” Mr Chirac said.

“You should understand how important it is to France that everything be done to ensure justice is done and that the murderers of your mother be found and punished.”

Andreas Schockenhoff, foreign policy expert for Merkel’s conservatives in parliament, said Politkovskaya’s murder was “a serious setback for the development of democracy in Russia”.

Her murder has highlighted problems faced by the media in Russia, where the Kremlin has centralised political power under Putin, fuelling Western concerns it was backtracking on democracy.

Dozens of Politkovskaya’s colleagues, public figures and admirers of her work gathered at a cemetery on the outskirts of Moscow for the funeral.

No high-ranking Russian officials could be seen at the ceremony.

“She was a unique woman in today’s Russia, which has only a small bunch of honest people in politics and journalism,” said Nikolai Smirnov, an architect from St Petersburg who flew to Moscow to pay his respects to his favourite author.

Police are still looking for clues as to who killed Politkovskaya. Many politicians and colleagues of the journalist have described her murder as a political murder, although views differ widely over who might have been behind it.—Reuters