Director of the Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Artem Shevchenko notes that the Russian citizenship of journalist Pavel Sheremet complicates the investigation of his murder, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He said this during a round table on World Press Freedom Day “Freedom of Speech in Ukraine: Current State and Challenges,” the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.
Speaking about the Sheremet case, the deputy head of the department - head of the department of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine, Alexander Kovtun, noted that “the investigation is currently ongoing.”
“Unfortunately, the persons involved in the murder have not yet been identified. The work is being done,” he said.
In turn, Shevchenko noted that “a significant difficulty in this work is due to the fact that the victim is a citizen of the Russian Federation who had active constant contacts on the territory of the aggressor country, which, according to the investigation, are very important for establishing the causes of the crime and potential attackers "
“It is impossible to carry out investigative actions on the territory of the Russian Federation, in particular, with those persons with whom he was in contact shortly before his death,” Shevchenko said and noted that legal assistance from Russia should also not be expected.
So, he said, one of the difficulties in investigating this crime is Sheremet’s Russian citizenship.
“And the fact that it is impossible to carry out investigative actions on the territory of the aggressor country, and the citizenship of the victim also greatly influences the result,” said a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Sheremet died in the center of Kyiv on the morning of July 20, 2016 as a result of a car explosion. The police qualified the crime under Part 2 of Article 5. 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional murder committed in a manner dangerous to the lives of many persons).