(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has raised doubts about official accounts of the 9 October 2003 murder of newspaper editor Alexei Sidorov after carrying out a fact-finding visit to Togliatti and Samara (Volga) on 16-17 October with the Glasnost Defence Foundation, a Russian press freedom group. RSF is concerned at the turn which the official investigations have […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has raised doubts about official accounts of the 9 October 2003 murder of newspaper editor Alexei Sidorov after carrying out a fact-finding visit to Togliatti and Samara (Volga) on 16-17 October with the Glasnost Defence Foundation, a Russian press freedom group.
RSF is concerned at the turn which the official investigations have taken. The authorities have already dismissed the possibility of a work-related killing and other important leads on grounds that appear inadequate to RSF. Contradictory statements by officials also indicate that the inquiries are being conducted with a lack of professionalism. The organisation believes that no hypothesis should be ruled out at this early stage and it fears international attention may have encouraged investigators to be rash.
The senior staff of “Toliattinskoye Obosrenie”, the regional newspaper that Sidorov edited, believe that the murder was linked to his work as a journalist. They reject the official version that his death was a case of everyday violence that was not premeditated. A suspect accused of killing Sidorov in a street brawl has been held by the authorities since 12 October. RSF notes that those responsible for killing the newspaper’s previous editor, Valery Ivanov, in April 2002 have still not been identified and brought to justice (see IFEX alerts of 1 August and 30 April 2002). The organisation calls on the Russian Federation’s public prosecutor, Vladimir Ustinov, to ensure that all leads are considered with great care and that investigators resist the temptation to declare the case closed in an attempt to satisfy international opinion, without exploring all its ins and outs.
On 9 October 2003, at around 10:00 p.m. (local time), Sidorov was stabbed by two men in his apartment building’s parking lot in Togliatti. The journalist, aged 31, died a few minutes later in his wife’s arms. The murder weapon was a “zatochka”, a home-made knife of the kind used in prisons, made from a piece of metal. Sidorov’s predecessor as editor, Ivanov, died in similar circumstances on 29 April 2002. Sidorov had established favourable relations with the car-maker AvtoVaz, which is the engine of the region’s economy and which supported the newspaper financially. Before becoming editor, he had been an investigative journalist with the newspaper. He had resumed his investigations into the criminal world a few weeks before his death, but neither his colleagues nor his wife knew what exactly he was working on.
Contradictory official statements
Serious doubt has been cast on the professionalism of the investigation by the contradictory official statements made between 15 and 17 October about the arrests of one or several suspects.
Announcing the arrests of a mechanic and an unemployed person on 15 October, the head of the Interior Ministry in the Volga region, Vladimir Shcherbakov, said the case was solved and was unrelated to Sidorov’s work. On 16 October, Evgeni Novozhilov, the deputy prosecutor of Samara and prosecutor of the city of Togliatti, denied this, saying that two other hypotheses were being considered in addition to unpremeditated violence: that the murder may have been linked to Sidorov’s work and the possibility that it was connected with the newspaper’s proposed sale. The federal inspector for the Samara region, Andrey Kogtev, reiterated on 17 October that two suspects had been arrested. That afternoon, Samara Prosecutor Alexandre Efremov said the case was solved. This was repeated by Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov.
The official version
The name of the principal detained suspect was revealed on 18 October. Evgeny Mayninger, a Togliatti welder held since 12 October, is accused of killing Sidorov in a fight. He allegedly encountered Sidorov by chance and asked to borrow some money to buy vodka. Sidorov supposedly refused, a fight broke out, Mayninger stabbed him several times and fled, throwing the knife away in the forest. He allegedly confessed. The identity of the two other suspects who had reportedly been arrested was not revealed.
The view of the newspaper’s staff
The editorial staff of “Toliattinskoye Obosrenie” have said several times that they are convinced that the murder was linked to Sidorov’s work. The day after the murder, the newspaper published a report spelling out four possible hypotheses.
The first two hypotheses were that the murder could have been linked with either of two articles published in June and July. One was about a conflict between a criminal, Igor Fillipov, and a Samara businessman, Vladimir Zaharchenko. The other was about a gang led by local crime boss Igor Sirotenko. Fillipov might have taken revenge on the newspaper for reporting that he had tried to attack his adversary and had lost some of his possessions after being interrogated by police. Sirotenko had threatened to sue the newspaper over the other article and demanded a retraction. The two criminals may also have joined forces to eliminate Sidorov.
The third hypothesis was that Sidorov may have had dangerous information, such as the location of wanted criminal Alexandre Belyakin’s hideout.
Finally, the newspaper thought the murder may also have been linked to the control of “Toliattinskoye Obosrenie”, as the management had just turned down an offer to buy the newspaper.
The staff said they had “difficulty believing the official version” for several reasons. When a re-enactment of the killing was held on the evening of 17 October, the newspaper’s journalists noted that the suspect made a mistake regarding the spot where it took place. At the same time, the suspect’s family has on several occasions said he was not an aggressive type and that he had been at home until about 10:00 pm, which was when the killing occurred. The newspaper’s staff also maintain that, knowing Sidorov, it is impossible to imagine him taking part in the kind of brawl described by the investigators.
