OSCE condemns murder of Russian journalist in Ukraine

KIEV, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Wednesday strongly condemned the murder of well-known Russian journalist and writer Arkady Babchenko in Ukraine.

Harlem Desir, the OSCE representative for media freedom, called on the Ukrainian government to conduct an immediate investigation into the murder.

"I call on the authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of this assassination and to bring the perpetrators and those who ordered it to justice," said Desir in a press release.

Babchenko, a journalist with the Ukrainian TV channel ATR, was shot in his apartment building on Tuesday evening and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Kiev police chief Andriy Kryshchenko told local media that Babchenko's professional activities as a journalist would be examined in the investigation to seek the motive of the murderer.

Babchenko, 41, had worked as a war correspondent in Moskovsky Komsomolets and several other Moscow-based media.

He moved from Moscow to Prague, capital of Czech Republic, in February 2017, citing unspecified threats. In August 2017, Babchenko moved to Kiev.

Babchenko is known as the author of several books on military themes, which have been translated into 16 languages.

The Kremlin has also condemned the murder of Babchenko in Ukraine and hoped for a comprehensive investigation into this criminal case.

A Kremlin spokesman said that Ukraine was becoming an increasingly dangerous country for journalists.

"We believe that this should be a subject to a very harsh international reaction that will encourage the Ukrainian authorities to take effective measures to improve the situation," Sputnik quoted the spokesman as saying. Enditem