Date
02/06/2001  
First
Victor  
Surname
POPKOV  
Sex/Age
M, 55  
Incident
crossfire  
Motive
J  
Place
(car)  
Job
journalist  
Medium
print  
Federal District Plus
Chechnya  
Street, Town, Region
Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya  
Freelance
yes  
Local/National
national, Novaya gazeta  
Other Ties
human rights activist  
Cause of Death
died in hospital; wounded in Chechnya  
Legal Qualification
no information  
Impunity
No Information  
Post Image

Victor Popkov, a freelance correspondent with "Novaya gazeta", died at the Vishnevsky military hospital in Krasnogorsk on 2 June 2001 as consequence of severe injuries received in Chechnya six weeks earlier.

On the morning of 18 April the car in which Popkov was travelling was halted as it left Alkhan-Kala where he had spent the night. Shots were fired at point blank range, two hitting Popkov in the head. Also seriously wounded was Dr Rosa Muzarova with whom Popkov was visiting mountain villages, distributing medical and other aid to those in need, especially children, from the Civil Assistance charity. Popkov and his companion were transferred first to Grozny, then to Vladikavkaz and finally to Moscow.

Popkov was a well-known figure in Chechnya where since 1995 he had worked as a human rights activist, securing the release of many captured soldiers. In April 2000 he interviewed Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, for which "Novaya gazeta" received a warning from the Ministry for the Press.