Relatives, friends and colleagues of slain Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya gathered on Pushkin Square for a candle-lit commemoration of her life Thursday, which would have been her 49th birthday.

The meeting came on a day Russian media reported that two of 11 suspects arrested in connection with her murder on Oct. 7 had been freed, while five others had complained of being abused during their detention.

Thursday evening, about 250 people gathered in a small corner of the square, much of which was crowded with stages and equipment already in place for the weekend's City Day celebrations.