‘Murdered’ Babtsjenko shows up at news conference

Arkadij Babtsjenko, who had been reported murdered in Kiev, dramatically reappeared alive yesterday during a briefing about his own killing.

The Russian journalist, 41, has been critical of Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria, and on Tuesday it was reported that he had been shot and killed in Kiev.

“I’m still alive,” an uneasy-looking Babtsjenko said as he walked into yesterday’s news conference. Then he apologised for the deception.

Authorities say that his death had been staged by the Ukrainian state security service to foil a plot on his life by Moscow’s security services.

Russia has denounced the faked killing as an outlandish attempt at defamation by its neighbour and foe, reports Reuters.

Translated by prosa.fo.