Death of Maksim Borodin

On 12 April 2018, investigative Russian journalist Maksim Borodin was severely injured after falling from his fifth-floor balcony in Yekaterinburg.[1] He was placed in a coma, but died from his injuries on 15 April.[2]

Events

In the months leading up to his death, Borodin gained national attention[3] after he wrote about the deaths of several Russian citizens, reported to be Wagner PMCs, in a confrontation with US-backed forces in eastern Syria in early February.[1] Throughout February and March, Borodin interviewed the relatives and commanders of those killed, and attended their funerals in the town of Asbest.[2] Borodin also had a reputation for investigating prisons and corrupt officials in his native Sverdlovsk Oblast.[3] He was also known for his investigation into the activities of ultra-conservative monarchist organizations. After an interview dedicated to them,[4] he was beaten.[5] On the eve of the attack in the October 2017, he received threats that "all the punishment of Heavens" would fall upon him.[6]

The day before his fall, Borodin told his friend that he had seen armed, camouflaged men near his flat. Following this, he attempted to find a lawyer. Later, however, Borodin called his friend again and said he had made a mistake, and that he thought the men had been taking part in some kind of training exercise.[1][2]

Following Borodin's death, Polina Rumyantseva, the editor of Novy Den (Borodin's employer), said in an interview that reporters from the paper had visited his apartment and had not seen any signs of a struggle. The investigators believed that Borodin had gone on the balcony to smoke and had fallen. Still, Rumyantseva stated "If there's even a hint of something criminal, we will make it public".[3]

On 23 April 2018, the official investigation reported that it had found no reason to initiate criminal case, although representatives of UNESCO and the OSCE earlier demanded a thorough investigation into the death of Maksim Borodin.[7] A journalist from the Novaya Gazeta newspaper who visited the accident site, noted that the police did not make any interviews with neighbors.[8] Mary Ilyushina, the author of a CNN article, drew parallels with the death of entrepreneur Valery Pshenichny, who was raped, tortured and hanged in pretrial detention. The Investigative Committee of Russia ruled this death a suicide.[9]

A few months after Borodin’s death, three journalists were killed in the Central African Republic, who investigated the activities of the Wagner group. Discussing this case, Julia Ioffe said: "It sure seems like a hell of a coincidence that all four Russian investigative journalists that turned up dead in the last few months were investigating Wagner".[10]

14 January 2019 the Justice for Journalists Foundation of Mikhail Khodorkovsky announces its 2019 grant programme. An investigation into the death of Maksim Borodin was mentioned among three possible investigations, dedicated to the crimes against journalists committed in 2017-2018.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Russian reporter dies after mystery fall". BBC. 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  2. Luxmoore, Matthew (2018-04-16). "Russian Journalist Who Reported on Secretive Paramilitary Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  3. Roth, Andrew (2018-04-16). "Russian investigative journalist dies after falling from balcony". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  4. Шепелин, Илья. Бунт царебожников: кто выпустил из подполья самую могущественную православную секту, которую остерегается даже патриарх. Телеканал Дождь (in Russian). Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  5. Журналист, рассказавший о ЧВК Вагнера, умер после падения с балкона. Московский Комсомолец. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. Костенко, Николай (ed.). "Нарушения права на свободу массовой информации". Права человека в Российской Федерации. Сборник докладов о событиях 2017 года. (PDF) (in Russian). Московская Хельсинкская группа. p. 45. ISBN 978-5-98440-083-1. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. Следствие не нашло криминала в обстоятельствах гибели Максима Бородина. РИА Новый День (in Russian). 23 April 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. Гутионтов, Павел (17 April 2018). "Несвободное падение". Новая Газета (in Russian). Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. Ilyushina, Mary (18 April 2019). "A death in Russia, and questions about the risks of investigative reporting". CNN. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  10. Crosbie, Jack (2 August 2018). "Journalists ambushed in CAR during investigation of Russian mercenaries". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  11. "Justice for Journalists Foundation Announces its Grant Programme for 2019". Justice for Journalists. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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