Maxim Borodin, a Russian journalist who reported on the deaths of dozens of Russian mercenaries in Syria, died at the hospital after falling from the fifth-floor window of his Yekaterinburg apartment.
The journalist was found injured by neighbors and was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Local officials said no suicide note had been found, but said "it is not possible that his death was due to a criminal act."
However, a friend of his revealed that his apartment was surrounded by men of the Russian security services two days before his fall.
Vyacheslav Baskov, who describes Maxim Borodin as an "integrity and honest" journalist, said Borodin contacted him at 5 a.m. on April 11, saying "there is a man with a gun on his balcony and men in camouflage suits and masks on the doorstep. staircase ”of the building.
Initially, the journalist was looking for a lawyer. But then she called him again to tell him that he had made a mistake and that the men of the security forces were taking part in some kind of exercise.
After being found badly injured on the ground under his apartment last Thursday, local authorities said the door to his apartment was locked from the inside to conclude that "no one entered or left the apartment". At least, not by the door.
The director of Novyy Den, where Borodin worked, did not believe his death could be due to an accident and insisted that the journalist had no reason to commit suicide.
Reportage
In recent weeks, the journalist had written a report on Russian mercenaries belonging to the Wagner Group, who were reportedly killed in Syria on February 7 during clashes with US forces.
Last week, outgoing CIA chief Mike Pompeo said "about two hundred" Russian mercenaries had been killed during clashes in Deir al-Zor. The mercenaries apparently took part in an attack by allied fighters of the Damascus regime against the headquarters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an ally of the USA.
A few weeks later, Moscow acknowledged that dozens of Russian civilians had been killed or wounded in the clashes, but insisted that there were no members of the regular Russian army among them.
"It is dangerous to be a Russian journalist," BBC journalist John Simpson commented on his Twitter account.
Investigators have launched an investigation
Investigators have launched an investigation into the death of Russian journalist Maxim Borodin, who died at the hospital after falling from the fifth-floor window of his Yekaterinburg apartment. A statement issued by the Investigative Committee in the Yekaterinburg region stated: "The Investigative Division in the Kirovsky district of Yekaterinburg has initiated the pre-trial investigation. There are no grounds for prosecution. "Several versions are being examined, including that of the accident, there is no evidence of a crime."