Death of Andrey Stenin

On 5 August 2014, Andrey Alexeyevich Stenin, a Russian photojournalist, disappeared while covering the war in Ukraine. He was confirmed dead on 3 September 2014, having died on 6 August according to the Investigative Committee of Russia.[1]

Andrey Stenin
Андрей Алексеевич Стенин
Born(1980-12-22)22 December 1980
Pechora, Komi ASSR
Died6 August 2014(2014-08-06) (aged 33)
Snizhne, Ukraine
Cause of deathKilled in action (gunshot wound)
Nationality Soviet Union→ Russia
Occupation(s)Journalist, photojournalist, war photographer
Awards

Background

Andrey Stenin (Russian: Андрей Алексеевич Стенин, also transliterated Andrei, who died 6 August 2014[1]) started his career as a text reporting journalist for Rossiyskaya Gazeta from 2003 and Gazeta.ru. In 2008 he turned to photojournalism and from 2009 on worked as a photo reporter for RIA Novosti. He was an experienced military photojournalist who had worked in Egypt, Syria, Libya, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.

Stenin was quoted after his death as saying, "Journalists are the eyes of the citizens and the world."[2]

Disappearance and death

Stenin was allegedly embedded with Russian-backed combatants in Ukraine. Critics have labelled his activity a part of the fabrication of war propaganda. After Stenin's disappearance, Anton Gerashchenko, an official with Ukraine's Interior Ministry suggested in an interview with the Latvian radio station Baltkom that the photojournalist might have been detained in the conflict area by Ukraine's security services.[1]

He went missing 5 August 2014. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ),[3] Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International expressed their concern for Stenin's safety. Reports in August indicated that Stenin's remains were found with the bodies of two other people.[4]

On 3 September Stenin was confirmed dead.[1] Russia's Investigative Committee said DNA tests had confirmed Stenin's identity.[5] According to the media he was in a vehicle traveling in a convoy of escaping civilians when the convoy came under heavy fire in an area controlled by the Ukrainian military and National Guard.[6] Andrey Stenin was the fourth Russian journalist killed in Ukraine in just a few months:[6]

  • Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, employees of the VGTRK radio and television network, were killed in June near Luhansk.
  • At the end of June, First TV Channel cameraman Anatoly Klyan was mortally wounded near Donetsk.

Aftermath

The UN issued a statement deploring his death, calling for an investigation and justice to be brought against those responsible.[7]

Stenin was awarded Russia's Order of Courage posthumously.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Russian photojournalist Andrei Stenin killed in Ukraine". Committee to Protect Journalists. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  2. "Kiev Committing War Crimes While Accusing Andrei Stenin of "Assisting Terrorists"". RIA Novosti. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  3. "Russian agency photographer goes missing in Ukraine". The Guardian. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. rferl 3 September 2014, , osce 23 August 2014 osce august
  5. "Результаты генетической экспертизы подтвердили смерть фотокорреспондента Андрея Стенина на юго-востоке Украины (DNA Test Confirms Death of Photojournalist Andrey Stenin on in Ukraine's Southeast)". Investigative Committee of Russia. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  6. "Russian Foreign Ministry Statement on the Death of Russian Journalist Andrei Stenin in Ukraine". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  7. "Director-General deplores death of Russian photojournalist Andrei Stenin". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  8. "Andrei Stenin has been posthumously awarded the Order of Courage". Russian Presidential Executive Office. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
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