By RFIPosted on 19-01-2020Modified on 19-01-2020 at 23:29

Are we headed for a funeral of the investigation into the murder of three Russian journalists in the Central African Republic over a year and a half ago? No. 2 of the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation announced earlier this week to the Russian newspaper Kommersant the provisional conclusions of its investigation into this triple murder committed during the night of July 30 to 31, 2018. Like the Central African government , he speaks of a "villainous crime committed by armed unknown persons".

The vice-president of the Russian Investigative Committee, an investigative body that reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, is formal: the three journalists were killed for a purely “ vile ” reason.

They reportedly refused to voluntarily hand over " their personal belongings and equipment " to a group of unidentified armed men, who simply shot them.

This is virtually word for word the conclusions made public by the Central African government in August 2018, a version diametrically opposed to the very thorough investigation of the Investigation Management Center.

It is this same organization funded by the Russian opponent in exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky who had dispatched the three journalists to the Central African Republic to investigate possible mercenary activities of the Russian company Wagner, which belongs to a relative of the Russian president.

According to the Investigation Management Center, which is based on a report by the Central African gendarmerie, the victims were the target of professional killers who tracked them, just two days after their arrival in this country.

The Central African government, which has never disputed the authenticity of this document, declined to comment.

Finally, this version also struggles to convince Reporter Without Borders , which calls for " an independent international investigation ", notably to shield it from Russian influence in the Central African Republic.

There are a lot of troubled ramifications in this file ...

Arnaud Froger, RSF Africa manager.

19-01-2020 - By Esdras Ndikumana

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