CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Muckraking and Murder
Three Russian journalists were killed by unknown assailants in the Central African Republic, where they were reportedly investigating the Wagner group on behalf of a news outfit financed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Russian private military contractor, the Wagner group has been involved in fighting in both Ukraine and Syria and is reportedly tied to Russian military intelligence, the GRU, the BBC reported.
The online news outfit, Investigation Control Center (TsUR), said in a Facebook post that the three reporters – identified as Orhan Dzhemal, Alexander Rastorguyev and Kirill Radchenko – had flown into the country on Friday and the agency was last able to contact them on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.
In an official statement, the Russian foreign ministry said it had not been informed of the journalists’ presence in CAR, making no comment on the circumstances of their deaths.
“Armed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on the vehicle. The three journalists died instantly,” Al Jazeera quoted Henri Depele, the mayor of the town of Sibut, as saying.
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