VIENNA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - The International Press Institute (IPI) Monday called on Russia to bring journalist Anna Politkovskaya's killers to justice on the eve of the second anniversary of her murder.

'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Anna Politkovskaya at this time,' said IPI director David Dadge in a statement.

'We continue to call on the Russian authorities to bring those responsible for Politkovskaya?s murder to justice,' he added.

Politkovskaya, a prominent critic of the Kremlin who wrote extensively on human rights abuses in Russia, was gunned down on October 7 2006 in Moscow.

Her death sparked outrage among Western governments and calls for Russia to address the issue of regular attacks on journalists.

Two years after her death, three people have been charged in connection with the crime, but her murderer is still at large and there has been no independent investigation into those who may have ordered the killing.

In June the suspected gunman Rustam Makhmudov, an ethnic Chechen, was charged in absentia with Politkovskaya?s murder. Russian authorities believe he has fled to Western Europe.

Makhmudov's brothers -- Dzhabrail and Ibragim -- and Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, a former operative from Moscow City Police Department?s anti-organised crime unit, were also charged in connection with the killing.

Politkovskaya did much of her hard-hitting work in Chechnya and media coverage of the investigation has focused on a suspected Chechen link to her murder.

The IPI also urged the Russian authorities to take concrete steps to prevent the murder of other journalists.

'With four journalists murdered this year alone, Russia continues to be one of the most dangerous countries in which to practice journalism,' Dadge said.

Established in 1950, the Vienna-based IPI is the oldest global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from 128 countries all around the world.

Its main goal is to defend rights of journalists and freedom of press throughout the world.