'Murdered' Russian journalist shows up alive at news conference
- 6 years ago
A dissident Russian journalist made a dramatic reappearance on Wednesday,.... just 24 hours after he was reported to have been murdered in Ukraine.
And in another twist,... it turns out Ukraine's secret service agents helped him stage his death.
Ro Aram has the details.
Ukrainian state security said the murder of Arkady Babchenko was faked in order to foil a Russian assassination plot.
Reporters at a press briefing in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday gasped and applauded when he appeared.
He explained that he was informed about the attempt on his life about a month ago.
"Sorry for this. Unfortunately, there were no other ways…… As far as I know this operation was in the planning for two months. I was informed about a month ago…. All these months we were in touch, we thought and worked on the details. As a result of this operation one man is arrested."
Even Babchenko's wife was unaware of the deception, and the 41-year-old Kremlin critic who fled to Ukraine 15 months ago apologized to her.
"Separately I would like to apologize to my wife for the hell she has had to go through the past two days. Olechka, forgive me please. I also had no choice about this."
One more person suspected of being involved in the potential assassination was detained later Wednesday.
According to a statement by the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, Russian special services recruited a Ukrainian citizen to organize and find someone to conduct a number of terrorist acts.
30-thousand U.S. dollars was reported to be the reward for Babchenko's death.
Russia said it was happy to see Babchenko alive, but denounced the sting plot as another anti-Russian provocation by Ukraine.
There has also been some backlash against Ukraine for the tactic used its security service, with some reporters calling it a pathetic stunt that discredited journalists.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.
And in another twist,... it turns out Ukraine's secret service agents helped him stage his death.
Ro Aram has the details.
Ukrainian state security said the murder of Arkady Babchenko was faked in order to foil a Russian assassination plot.
Reporters at a press briefing in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday gasped and applauded when he appeared.
He explained that he was informed about the attempt on his life about a month ago.
"Sorry for this. Unfortunately, there were no other ways…… As far as I know this operation was in the planning for two months. I was informed about a month ago…. All these months we were in touch, we thought and worked on the details. As a result of this operation one man is arrested."
Even Babchenko's wife was unaware of the deception, and the 41-year-old Kremlin critic who fled to Ukraine 15 months ago apologized to her.
"Separately I would like to apologize to my wife for the hell she has had to go through the past two days. Olechka, forgive me please. I also had no choice about this."
One more person suspected of being involved in the potential assassination was detained later Wednesday.
According to a statement by the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, Russian special services recruited a Ukrainian citizen to organize and find someone to conduct a number of terrorist acts.
30-thousand U.S. dollars was reported to be the reward for Babchenko's death.
Russia said it was happy to see Babchenko alive, but denounced the sting plot as another anti-Russian provocation by Ukraine.
There has also been some backlash against Ukraine for the tactic used its security service, with some reporters calling it a pathetic stunt that discredited journalists.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.