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Associative photo by Sergei Fadeichev (TASS / Scanpix).
The editor of an independent Russian news site was set on fire on Friday after a police raid in an investigation against an opposition group, its website said.
The Nizhny Novgorod-based website Koza.Press confirmed that its editor-in-chief, Irina Slavina, had “set herself on fire in front of the police headquarters.”
City investigators later confirmed the journalist’s death in a report and said her body had been found with “signs of thermal burns.” However, investigators said they “had no reason” to link Slavina’s death to police raids, as she had only witnessed an ongoing investigation.
A few hours before his death, the journalist wrote on Facebook: “Please blame the Russian Federation for my death.”
The video, distributed on social media, shows how she set herself on fire while sitting on a bench.
Slavina’s website was dedicated to journalistic investigation and highlighted the activities of President Vladimir Putin’s opponents, friends and supporters said on Friday. Such work is rare in the media of the Russian province, which is under pressure from local services.
The editor “died from his injuries,” the website said, adding that the information was confirmed by I. Slavina’s husband. A bit later, the website became inaccessible.
After the journalist’s death, her colleagues and activists issued statements of sympathy and respect. Human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov wrote on the Telegram platform that he had to work with Slavina twice when she was accused of disrespecting the authorities and publishing liars.
I. Slavina wrote on social media Thursday that police and federal guard officers stormed her apartment early in the morning.
According to her, the officials searched for evidence related to the opposition movement “Open Russia”, funded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and deemed “undesirable” by the authorities. The organization is suspected of financing protests in Nizhny Novgorod.
“I don’t have anything anymore,” she told the journalist, adding that the police had confiscated her computer equipment, as well as her husband and daughter’s laptops and phones.
“I no longer have the means of production,” Slavina added.
Opposition leader Alexei Navaln, who is still being treated in Berlin after the poisoning in Russia, said Slavina’s death was a “horrible” event, according to German doctors.
“The Slavs have fabricated a criminal case on political charges. Yesterday, they searched his house, broke down the doors, confiscated computers,” he wrote.
“Obviously, it led to suicide,” Navalnas said.
Local news portal NN.ru reported that people had gathered on one of the streets of Nizhny Novgorod to honor the memory of I. Slavina. One man held a sign with the words “The state kills.”
The reproduction of information from the BNS news agency in the media and on websites is prohibited without the written consent of the UAB “BNS”.
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