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Bodies of Russian journalists killed in CAR may be sent home later than scheduled

On July 30, three Russian journalists were killed in the Central African Republic

© AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

RABAT, August 2. /TASS/. The bodies of Russian journalists killed in the Central African Republic may be sent home later than scheduled due to various difficulties, Russian Charge D'affaires in the country Viktor Tokmakov told TASS on Thursday.

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"We plan to dispatch the bodies on August 3 but we are not totally sure that things will go as planned," he said.

According to the diplomat, "there are numerous difficulties related to the dispatch of bodies." "In particular, zinc coffins of the necessary sizes are not easy to find, there are also problems with getting all the documents form local authorities," Tokmakov explained.

He also said that "the journalists’ bodies are being kept in the mortuary of the Amitie Hospital in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui.

The Russian emnbassy in the Central African Republic said on Tuesday that three men had been found dead near the city of Sibut (300 kilometers north of Bangui) on July 30. The Russian Foreign Ministry said later that the three had been carrying press cards in the names of Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal.

The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation into the murder. Editor-in-chief of the Ekho Moskvy (or Echo of Moscow) radio station Alexei Venediktov earlier told TASS that journalist Orkhan Dzhemal, cameraman Kirill Radchenko and director Alexander Rastorguyev had been working on a documentary in the CAR.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assured that all necessary assistance would be provided to the slain journalists’ families.

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