Russian journalist who died in fall reportedly probed weapons deals

[Prometheus]

Russian journalist who died in fall reportedly probed weapons deals link

Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 11:36 AM ET
The Associated Press


A journalist who fell to his death from a fifth-storey window had received threats while preparing a report claiming Russia planned to provide sophisticated weapons to Syria and Iran, his newspaper said Tuesday.

Prosecutors have opened an inquest into the death of Ivan Safronov, a military affairs writer for the daily Kommersant. He died Friday in what some media said could have been murder.

The paper reported that Safronov had told his editors he would write a story about Russian plans to sell weapons to Iran and Syria via Belarus, but said he had not submitted the article.

Kommersant said Safronov recently told colleagues he had been warned he would face a criminal investigation on charges of revealing state secrets if he reported allegations that Russia had struck a deal to supply advanced Iskander missiles to Syria. Such a contract would upset the balance of forces in the Mideast and likely anger Israel and the United States.

Safronov did not say where the warning came from, according to Kommersant, but he had repeatedly been questioned in the past by the Federal Security Service or FSB, which suspected him of divulging state secrets in his reports. The FSB is the main successor agency to the KGB.

"Ivan Safronov said he was not going to write about it for a while, because he was warned that it would create a huge international scandal and the FSB would launch a criminal case on charges of breaching state secrets," the report said.

Russia's arms sales to such nations as Iran and Syria have been an irritant in its relations with the U.S. and have drawn criticism from Israel.

Ignoring U.S. and Israeli criticism, Russia has delivered 29 Tor-M1 mobile surface-to-air missile systems to Iran under a $700 million US contract. Russian news reports have said the Iranians were pushing Russia to sell much more potent, long-range S-300 air-defence missile systems.

Kommersant reported that, before his trip to an international arms fair last month in the United Arab Emirates, Safronov said he would try to confirm indications that Russia planned to sell S-300 missiles to Iran and Su-30 fighter jets to Syria via Belarus. Safronov later called his editors from Abu Dhabi and said he had received the necessary confirmation from Russian officials who attended the exhibit, Kommersant reported.

Sophisticated missiles could threaten Israel
Upon his return from the trip, it said, Safronov told colleagues that he also had learned about Russian plans to provide Syria with Iskander missiles, MiG-29 fighter jets and Pantsyr-S1 air defence systems.
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The Iskander, a sophisticated surface-to-surface missile with a range of 280 kilometres, would give Syria the capability to strike targets in Israel with high precision. Israel has complained about past sales of anti-tank missiles to Syria, saying that some landed in the hands of the militant group Hezbollah.
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Russia has been plagued by attacks on reporters who seek to expose official corruption and other abuses. The problem was highlighted by the October killing of Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter and a harsh critic of human rights abuses in Chechnya.

A report Tuesday from the Brussels-based International News Safety Institute listed Iraq, Russia and Colombia as the deadliest countries for journalists and their support staff. There were 138 deaths in Iraq last year, 88 in Russia and 72 in Colombia, the report said.

? The Canadian Press, 2007

[Axl4Prez2004]

I guess Russia will be the newest member of "The Axis of Evil."  That name itself is great.  Someone call the SuperFriends..."Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice..."   

I wouldn't put it past Russia at this point.  They are mighty pissed at GW Bush and want to have a say in the future of the Middle East.  Getting in with the power players in the region like Iran and Syria, even if it's behind closed doors, will provide economic opportunity. 

[Bill 213]

It's like Rocky IV all over again 

"I must break you"

[Krispy Kreme]

I have little doubt that the death was not an accident.
There is a long history of "mysterious" deaths since Putin (former head of KGB) became  president in 2000, and none are ever solved. So either the Russian police is inept, or....

Members of the Duma (lower house of the legislature) have been killed, journalists have been killed, that Litveneko guy was murdered recently. More and more, people who oppose the Kremlin are disposed of one way or another: some are driven away (Berezovsky, Gusinsky), some are imprisoned (Khodorkovsky), or killed.

If there is any bright side, it is that the myth of Russian "democracy" is finally being exposed.

[polluxlm]

I have little doubt that the death was not an accident.
There is a long history of "mysterious" deaths since Putin (former head of KGB) became? president in 2000, and none are ever solved. So either the Russian police is inept, or....

Members of the Duma (lower house of the legislature) have been killed, journalists have been killed, that Litveneko guy was murdered recently. More and more, people who oppose the Kremlin are disposed of one way or another: some are driven away (Berezovsky, Gusinsky), some are imprisoned (Khodorkovsky), or killed.

If there is any bright side, it is that the myth of Russian "democracy" is finally being exposed.

True, but nobody really believed in Russian 'democracy' anyway. It won't change anything, Putin is in control and the rest of the world could care less.

[jabba2]

I dont think Putin is involved, the russian mafia is everywhere in that country. Terrorists could buy nuclear subs if they want one enough. And since Russia isnt going to war soon, they'll sell pretty much any military equipment.

[Izzy]

Bizzare that Stalin, (wait, Putin?) doesnt turn his terror on the mafia and organised crime - but like any good dictator he plots only against his enemies.

Putin's learnt from the best - one does wonder if Machiavelli's 'The Prince' has a Russian translation....

[Krispy Kreme]

I have little doubt that the death was not an accident.
There is a long history of "mysterious" deaths since Putin (former head of KGB) became? president in 2000, and none are ever solved. So either the Russian police is inept, or....

Members of the Duma (lower house of the legislature) have been killed, journalists have been killed, that Litveneko guy was murdered recently. More and more, people who oppose the Kremlin are disposed of one way or another: some are driven away (Berezovsky, Gusinsky), some are imprisoned (Khodorkovsky), or killed.

If there is any bright side, it is that the myth of Russian "democracy" is finally being exposed.

True, but nobody really believed in Russian 'democracy' anyway. It won't change anything, Putin is in control and the rest of the world could care less.

Well, the East Europeans are getting worried, and even bush's team has expressed concern about democratic "backsliding." I don't really think it is accurate to say that the world  could care less; there are a lot of governments that are  increasingly wary and even upset about political trends in Russia, not to mention the way it is throwing its weight around on the energy supply issue to Europe.

[polluxlm]

I have little doubt that the death was not an accident.
There is a long history of "mysterious" deaths since Putin (former head of KGB) became? president in 2000, and none are ever solved. So either the Russian police is inept, or....

Members of the Duma (lower house of the legislature) have been killed, journalists have been killed, that Litveneko guy was murdered recently. More and more, people who oppose the Kremlin are disposed of one way or another: some are driven away (Berezovsky, Gusinsky), some are imprisoned (Khodorkovsky), or killed.

If there is any bright side, it is that the myth of Russian "democracy" is finally being exposed.

True, but nobody really believed in Russian 'democracy' anyway. It won't change anything, Putin is in control and the rest of the world could care less.

Well, the East Europeans are getting worried, and even bush's team has expressed concern about democratic "backsliding." I don't really think it is accurate to say that the world? could care less; there are a lot of governments that are? increasingly wary and even upset about political trends in Russia, not to mention the way it is throwing its weight around on the energy supply issue to Europe.

Well of course, on a political level there are always concerns. If you remember 1963 we almost got into a nuclear war based on petty politicians/officers assumptions.

Where there's an enemy there's a war, where there's war there's money. But the general public and the media could really care less about what happens over there.

[Krispy Kreme]

It was October 1962.

Here is some news from Radio Liberty, 7 March 2007

U.S. INTELLIGENCE CHIEF CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIA'S POLITICAL COURSE.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told a U.S.
Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on
February 27 that "the march to democracy has taken a back step in
Russia," news agencies reported. He added that Russia's political
course has become "less of a democratic process" than Washington
previously assumed was the case, including the succession to
President Vladimir Putin, whose current term expires in 2008 and who
is constitutionally barred from seeking a third one. McConnell noted
that "those that [Putin] is listening to are extremely conservative
and very suspicious of the United States. [They] interpret things
through a lens that portrays Russia as the downtrodden, or [that
indicates that] we're trying to hold them back to the advantage of
the United States." Commenting in Moscow on February 28 on the
hearing, Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the State Duma's Foreign
Affairs Committee, noted that one of the American participants said
that Putin is scheduled to leave office in 2007, RIA Novosti
reported. Kosachyov argued that such a mistake shows how poorly
informed U.S. policymakers are regarding Russian affairs.