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Russian Journalist Dies in Suspicious Fall From Window
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ShareMarch 05, 2007 12:15 AM
Respected Russian journalist Ivan Safronov, who reported on military affairs, mysteriously plunged to his death from the 5th floor of his apartment building Friday, making him the 14th journalist to die under questionable circumstances in Putin's Russia, according to statistics compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
"They killed Ivan. They killed Ivan," said a distraught former U.S. intelligence staffer familiar with Safronov when he learned the news today. "Another Russian journalist is dead. Ivan fell out of the window with his coat and hat on? Come on," said the former official who frequently visits Moscow and asked to remain anonymous.
Last October, Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment building as she unloaded groceries just days before she was scheduled to publish a story about the use of torture by Chechnyan officials.
Photos The Murder of a Former Russian Spy
Polikovskaya's killing, the 13th since Putin took office, led the Committee to Protect Journalists to declare Russia "the third deadliest country in the world for journalists" after Iraq and Algeria in their recent report, "Deadly News." All of the cases remain unsolved.
According to a report in this morning's Moscow Times, Safronov, who wrote for the Russian business newspaper "Kommersant," fell head first and fully clothed from a 5th floor window although he lived in an apartment on the 3rd floor of the building.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
The Times reported the FSB -- the Federal Security Bureau, which is the successor agency to the KGB -- was unhappy with Safronov's reporting on sensitive weapons systems.
Safronov's death adds to the list of critics of the Putin regime and the FSB, who have died or been injured in strange circumstances in just the past six months:
- Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down last October. The killers have not been caught.
- Former spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned last November in London by the rare radioactive substance polonium, which was slipped into a teapot.
- And just last week Russian scholar Paul Joyal was shot and wounded in an attack outside his suburban Maryland home, a few days after appearing on NBC News in a program about the Litvinenko case. So far, Maryland police have said the shooting appears to be the result of high crime in the area.
March 5, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (31)
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Of course when I report this I will mention it is not a conspiracy. I would never think Putin would have anything to do with this. If I said otherwise…I would currently fear for my life! They are all independent and unrelated deaths and hopefully by saying this I am not put on the long list of those who must be dealt with.
Posted by: Skip | Mar 5, 2007 2:56:34 PM
What Bush saw in Putin's soul WAS all good. Good for the NWO agenda.
Posted by: George Washington | Mar 5, 2007 3:03:49 PM
As long as Putin maintains his high popularity amoung the Russian people, who the hell cares? It's their country, let them run it as they wish.
Americans...always sticking their noses where they don't belong.
Posted by: R Kerry | Mar 5, 2007 3:07:31 PM
Its 14 journalists over 5 years, not 14 murders in 1 year and considering the murder rate in Russia just for regular people I dont see why people see a Kremlin conspiracy in all this. Safranov was a pro-Putin journalist by all measures too, he was not a liberal. His run in with the FSB ended well when he revealed he used open sources for the article that he was questioned over. The Russian army actually loved him, he was a retired colonel and various generals today sent condolences to his family. The head of Russian strategic aviation even talked about him during his press conference today. All indications are that in his case this really was a suicide. A neighbor saw him walking up the stairs but going 2 floors above where his apartment was. He then went out the window.
Posted by: yuri | Mar 5, 2007 3:32:59 PM
The killing of journalists is a problem. However, judgment needs to be reserved until investigations into the problems is completed. Right now a lot of the questionable murders are purely speculative. No American court of law could convict Putin based on the circumstansial evidence that exists. However, it is something the UN and other organizations, NOT JUST THE US, need to look into.
Posted by: Concerned Citizen | Mar 5, 2007 4:33:17 PM
Hey Yuri, may be it was suicide, and crime in Maryland suburbia is awful, and elevator executions could have been a simple gun cleaning accident, and Litvenenco's poisoning could have been self-inducedto discredit poor Putin.
A dangerous chapter will begin if American's begin to have such politically motivated suspicious circumstances. Someone should warn Putin to show some restraint before he begins targeting Americans. We can be such innovators in a pinch.
Posted by: mark | Mar 5, 2007 4:35:28 PM
It is fascinating that people here are trying to claim that this is a plot to discredit Putin or that journalists in the U.S. would be facing the same threats if they were aggressive. Get real people. If you had ever been to Russia you would know what totalitarianism was really like.
Posted by: Peter | Mar 5, 2007 7:24:37 PM
Too many deaths to think that all these are just random acts that occur. I can see it now, Putin setting in his smoke filled room being filled in by his associates regarding the success of the mission. Very clearly, evil deeds are occuring under Putin regime.
Posted by: Greg | Mar 5, 2007 8:18:59 PM
Me thinks there's a sickness out there. Me thinks that unbridled hatred has poisoned their minds.
Posted by: W.L. | Mar 6, 2007 5:37:24 AM
is it posible that he was trying to catch birds?
Posted by: djteel | Mar 11, 2007 3:46:17 AM
i live near where paul joyal was shot, and "high crime" in the area being the cause of his death is not true. PG county does have its crime problems, but not where he was killed, plus his wallet wasnt stolen or anything...
Posted by: squidelicious | Mar 13, 2007 1:09:02 PM
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