World
17:19, 02-Aug-2018
Russia investigates murder of three journalists in Central African Republic
Updated
16:31, 05-Aug-2018
["europe","africa"]
Share
Copied
The Russian Investigative Committee, the country's main federal probe agency, said on Wednesday it is investigating the murder of three Russian journalists in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguev and Kirill Radchenko were working on a film about the so-called Wagner Group, a company that sends Russian mercenaries to hotspots such as Syria and Ukraine.
The journalists were ambushed and killed by unidentified men some 200 km northeast of capital Bangui on their way to meet a local contact, Russian online news organization Investigation Control Center said Monday.
Their driver managed to escape and informed the local authorities of the attack.
Alexander Rastorguev, a journalist working for the Russian news organization TsUR, was among the three reporters killed in the Central African Republic. /VCG Photo
Alexander Rastorguev, a journalist working for the Russian news organization TsUR, was among the three reporters killed in the Central African Republic. /VCG Photo
On Wednesday, CAR authorities said the Russians were shot dead at a roadblock by a nine-man group.
CAR government spokesman Ange Maxime Kazagui said the nine "wore headscarves" and did not speak in French or Sango, two languages that are nationally used in the CAR.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook Wednesday that the trio had traveled to CAR on a tourist visa and had ignored warnings by the local law enforcement agencies not to leave the safety zone.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the Russian Embassy in CAR had not been informed of their presence in the country.
It added that its staff are now in close contact with the local authorities to find out the circumstances of the deaths.
On Thursday, Russia said no sign of torture was found on the bodies of the slain journalists.
(Top image: Flowers were left outside Moscow's House of Journalists in memory of the three journalists – Orkhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguev, and Kirill Radchenko (pictured, from right) who were shot dead in the Central African Republic, August 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): AFP
,Xinhua News Agency