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A Russian journalist who covered the operations of Russian mercenaries working in the Syria conflict was reported dead after falling from the balcony of his fifth floor flat in the Siberian city of Ekaterinbug, Russia. Local officials ruled the death a suicide but his co-workers are refusing to believe he caused his own death.
Novy Den, a Russian news outlet reported the incident and employed Borodin, adding officials stated the door to Maxim Borodin’s apartment was locked from the inside. He expired in a local hospital.
“In March, Borodin wrote about bodies believed to be those of mercenaries being delivered to a regional village. Thousands of mercenaries reportedly have been deployed to Syria by a shadowy contracting company believed to be bankrolled by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin was indicted by the U.S. in February on charges that he funded the “troll factory” alleged to have tried to influence the 2016 presidential election,” wrote Associated Press.
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Borodin’s editor at Novy Den, Polina Rumyantseva, said on Sunday that she doesn’t believe he committed suicide, RFERL reported.
Reporters Without Borders tweeted on Sunday that the circumstances of Borodin’s death were “suspicious,” and that they want “a thorough, impartial investigation, wrote Business Insider.
Polina Rumyantseva, Borodin’s editor, said police suspected that he had fallen off his balcony while sitting on a ledge to smoke.
Many outlets have reported on the incident in Syria where American airpower killed possibly hundred of Russian mercenaries. However, reporting on the bodies being brought back to Russia may have crossed a red line with those in power. The Kremlin has been very diligent in preventing bad information from leaking to the population regarding overseas military actions. Many families are paid to be silent.
