CAR authorities tell about resistance rendered by Djemal and his colleagues to killers

Orkhan Djemal and his colleagues failed to observe security requirements by leaving at night for the area controlled by rebels; and they resisted the attackers, said the Media Minister of the Central African Republic (CAR). There are no signs of torture on journalists' bodies, said the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 31 it became known that the journalist Orkhan Djemal and his two colleagues were killed while working on a new documentary film.

The journalists Orkhan Djemal, Kirill Radchenko and Alexander Rastorguev, assassinated in CAR, failed to notify the authorities about their activities and did not observe the security requirements, Anzh Maxim Kazagi, the Minister for Mass Media and Communications, who is also the press secretary of the country's government, said in his interview with the RBC (RosBusinessConsulting).

According to Mr Kazagi, the Russians had rented a car with a driver and decided to leave for the city of Sibut in the evening on July 30. After driving for several dozens kilometres, their way was blocked by people who spoke Arabic. They tried to take the car away from the journalists. One of the Russians tried to resist, but was killed on the spot, the two others died from the received wounds; all the three were found on the following day, said Minister Kazagi, adding that the driver was wounded, but he managed to escape.

According to Mr Kazagi, after arriving in the CAR, Russian journalists failed to properly observe safety measures. "By deciding to drive at night along the road full of raiders, rebels and armed bandits, they took huge risks," Minister Kazagi has stressed.

Local doctors who examined the bodies did not find any signs of torture on them, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian MFA, has stated today. "According to the data received from the staff of the Russian Embassy to the CAR, during the initial examination of the bodies, local doctors did not find any signs of torture, only gunshot wounds," the "Interfax" quotes Ms Zakharova as saying today.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 2, 2018 at 11:12 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.