Russia arrests seven who allegedly killed two prominent journalists

A Moscow court on Saturday released criminal charges against seven people “motivated by national hatred” who allegedly killed two Russian journalists in a Ukrainian-backed conspiracy, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported.

The court approved the detention until Sept. 14 on criminal charges of “hooliganism” for five minors born in 2005 and 2006 and two men who claim to be part of an organized group, Tass said.

TASS said the Russian Security Service (FSB) on Friday detained a group of people who carried out reconnaissance near the homes and workplaces of journalists Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak. The number of people was not specified.

There were no immediate comments from Ukraine, which has in the past denied involvement in the killings of pro-war figures in Russia.

Interfax news agency quoted the FSB as saying the detainees had admitted they were preparing attacks against the two women on behalf of Ukraine and were allegedly pledged 1.5 million rubles ($16,620) each.

Simonyan, head of RT, state media and supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, posted a message on Telegram about the alleged plot, urging the security services to “Keep working, brothers!”

Sobchak is a well-known journalist and TV presenter who ran for president in 2018. Two pro-war Russian figures, journalist Darya Dugina and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, were killed in bomb attacks in Russia last year. Russia blamed Ukraine for the killings, while Kiev denied it and described them as evidence of Russian infighting.

In May, a well-known Russian nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was injured in a car bomb attack that killed his driver. Investigators said a suspect had been detained and admitted to acting on Ukraine’s behalf.

Source: Terra

Rose

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