A Moscow court has acquitted three men accused of helping murder Kremlin critic and journalist Anna Politkovskaya, leaving Russia's most politically-charged killing in years still unsolved.
The jury found that brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov were not guilty of acting as accomplices in the murder and former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov was not guilty of organising the crime.
The failure by prosecutors to secure a conviction for such a high-profile killing - which provoked a storm of criticism in the West that freedom of speech was under threat - is likely to raise fresh questions about Russia's justice system.
Yulia Safina, a lawyer for the prosecution, told reporters the court's decision would be appealed.
Politkovskaya, a 48-year-old mother of two who published scathing exposes on official corruption and rights abuses, was shot dead outside her apartment in October 2006 after returning home from the supermarket.
The Kremlin denied any involvement, saying the murder was an attempt to discredit Russia.
Following the verdict, the Makhmudov brothers embraced each other in the cage in the courtroom where the defendants were held.
"Thank God that through the mercy of the Almighty the jury have delivered the right verdict," Dzhabrail Makhmudov said from the cage, where he was kept pending an order from the judge to release him. "Of course we expected this verdict. We do not intend to run away anywhere."
All three men were later allowed out of the cage after an order from the judge, and they hugged their friends and relatives in the courtroom.
Even before today’s verdict, Ms Politkovskaya's family and former colleagues accused prosecutors of failing to solve the crime, one of the most high-profile killings during the eight-year tenure of former president Vladimir Putin.
Lawyers for Politkovskaya's family said throughout the trial that the three men in the dock were just pawns and that the real killers - including the man suspected of pulling the trigger and whoever ordered the murder - were still at large.
Politkovskaya's son Ilya said after the verdict that the family would respect the court's ruling. "We support the jury's decision because the state prosecution was unable to convince them," he told reporters.