- Id
- 325
- Date
- 20/01/2010
- First
- Konstantin
- Surname
- POPOV
- Sex/Age
- M, 47
- Incident
- homicide
- Motive
- ?J
- Place
- (detoxification centre)
- Job
- journalist
- Medium
- press, TV
- Federal District Plus
- SIBERIA
- Street, Town, Region
- Tomsk
- Freelance
- No
- Local/National
- local
- Other Ties
- Cause of Death
- beaten
- Legal Qualification
- 111.2b (assault) and 286.3c (abuse of office)
- Impunity
- investigation
Journalist Konstantin Popov, 47, died on Wednesday 20 January 2010 as a result of a severe beating he received, while intoxicated, from a police sergeant over two weeks earlier.
Popov worked for a variety of local media, newspapers and television, as well as heading the press service of the Tomskneft oil company. Detained on 4 January for being intoxicated in public, apparently, and taken to the treatment centre for such cases, he was there violently assaulted by the sergeant. Several hours later Popov was sent home and then taken to hospital by ambulance. He never regained consciousness following urgent operations on his injuries.
The 26 year old policeman responsible for his injuries was identified and charged on 15 January with committing a serious assault and abuse of office. Russia’s media monitors are now investigating a death which has appalled Popov’s colleagues, and society in the Tomsk Region and at the national level.
This summary is based on information published by the Interfax news agency (in Russian) on 20 January 2010.