Investigators hired by Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, also a former oligarch, are calling for a full investigation by the Russian and C.A.R. governments with support from the UN after uncovering evidence that suggests Russian Vagner Group mercenaries connected to Russian tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin worked with C.A.R. law enforcement to kill three Russian journalists working on a documentary about the mercenary group. Mercenary activity is technically illegal under Russian law, but liberalities in the area have seen the growth of several mercenary groups in the country and their activity in Ukraine, Syria, and the C.A.R.. The official C.A.R. investigation into the killings is still ongoing, but the government and the Russian Foreign Ministry have stated that the men were killed after resisting a robbery attempt. C.A.R. officials, embroiled in a sectarian conflict, further stated that the killings were carried out by Arabic speakers “wearing turbans.” The investigators released a statement saying, “taking into consideration the evidence contradicting the official version of the crime and the evidence indicating the involvement of mercenaries of the Vagner group and also considering the intentional efforts to obstruct our independent investigation, our goal is — with the support of the UN — to get the C.A.R. and Russia to conduct an independent and thorough investigation of these murders.”
Source: Khodorkovsky Investigators Say Evidence Links Vagner Group To Russian Journalists’ Killings
