A senior member of a group known for reporting on public figures who oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the authorities has been killed in Moscow, the group confirmed Friday following media reports of his stabbing death.
Anton Yegovtsev, deputy chairman of the Zov Naroda (Call of the People) movement was killed near his home overnight, the group said on social media. Zov Naroda previously urged the authorities to designate the popular exiled rock band Bi-2 “sponsors of terrorism” for condemning the war in Ukraine.
Zov Naroda did not specify how Yegovtsev was killed, saying only that an investigation was underway. Russian law enforcement authorities have not officially commented on his death.
The pro-Kremlin broadcaster Ren TV said it spoke with Zov Naroda chairman, Sergei Zaytsev, who revealed that Yegovtsev was stabbed to death after months of receiving threats from an admirer of his wife.
“There were conflicts. From time to time, he [the assailant] even knocked on the apartment [door and issued] threats. It was reported to the police, there are video recordings of how the local scumbag ran his finger across his throat,” Zaytsev was quoted as saying.
“He was chopped up, just chopped up,” Ren TV quoted Yegovtsev’s widow Yekaterina as saying.
Unconfirmed reports by Telegram channels with purported links to Russian security services said Yegovtsev’s assailant was hospitalized after the attack.
Zov Naroda is among a number of groups engaging in filing complaints to Russian authorities against anti-war dissenters since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
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