SOCHI, October 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Central African Republic’s President Faustin-Archange Touadera confirmed at a meeting in Sochi their countries’ determination to complete the investigation into the killing of three Russian journalists Orkhan Jemal, Alexander Rastorguyev and Kirill Radchenko in the Central African Republic a year ago, Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
"Yes, [the investigation of this crime] was discussed. The high level of cooperation by the two countries’ law enforcement agencies in this investigation was noted. The determination was confirmed to ensure the investigation should end with identifying those responsible for this killing," he said.
The three Russian journalists in question were killed in the Central African Republic at the end of July 2018 while filming a documentary. Russia’s Investigative Committee (IC) opened a criminal case and has been investigating the killing in cooperation with the CAR authorities since. The IC suspects the journalists were murdered by robbers.
In August 2019, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported the investigation of this crime was continuing and there were many questions addressed to the organizers of the journalists’ trip. According to the IC, the Central African Republic’s embassy in Moscow was misled regarding the real purpose of the group’s visit when issuing tourist visas. Radchenko, Jemal and Rastorguyev did not have the proper accreditation or permissions to carry photo and video equipment or filming permits. Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the persons who had dispatched the filming crew to Bangui, failed to notify the Russian embassy of the journalists’ arrival or the purposes of their trip. Such a notification might have been helpful in terms of ensuring security and prevented tragic consequences.