Murdered journalists were tracked by police with shadowy Russian links, evidence shows
|(CNN)New evidence shows that three Russian journalists killed in the Central African Republic last year were victims of a well-planned ambush involving a senior police officer with shadowy Russian connections — and they were tracked from the moment they arrived in the country.
The three journalists — Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal — went to CAR in July 2018 to investigate the activities of Russian private military contractors. Their intention was to find out how the contractors were involved in exploiting the CAR’s mineral wealth.
The trio were shot dead after the vehicle in which they were traveling was attacked on a remote road in the volatile country. Their fate has cast a spotlight on a growing Russian presence in Africa, involving the Kremlin, private companies with ties to to President Vladimir Putin and large shipments of weapons.