18 May 2013
Nikolai Potapov
Shooting
The Glasnost Defence Foundation (GDF) reported that Nikolai Potapov, 66, was gunned down in the Stavropol region on May 18, 2013.
Potapov, a former chair of the Prigorodny village council and an environmental activist, was the founder and editor of the Selsovet (Village Council) newspaper, for which he also authored articles. Local sources told IPI that the newspaper exposed alleged corruption by local authorities, particularly with respect to land deals in which officials were accused of transferring state property to criminal gangs in neighbouring Caucasus regions. Sources also said that the newspaper’s uncompromising stance was the most likely motive for Potapov’s killing. Authorities took suspects into custody shortly after the crime and in mid-August they said they had identified the mastermind behind the killing, but they did not release that person’s name.
>> Read the original article here
Source: IPI
