Russia: Journalist dies after being savagely assaulted by police

Journalist dies after being savagely assaulted by police

A Russian journalist was recently beaten to death in police custody, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Journalist Konstantin Popov was arrested on 4 January, in Tomsk, Siberia, and brutally assaulted. He was in a coma for two weeks and died in hospital on 20 January. He worked for the weekly newspaper "Tomskaya Nedelya".

"We call for an urgent investigation into this savage attack and for those responsible to face the full force of the law," said IFJ. "There have been failed prosecutions of journalists' murders in Russia because of ineffective investigations."

Russia was among the top five countries with the highest numbers of targeted killings of journalists in 2009, with six murders, reports IFJ.