A policeman who got off with a two-year suspended sentence for killing opposition journalist Magomed Yevloyev in 2008 was shot dead by unknown assailants in the Ingush city of Nazran on Wednesday, investigators said.
Two men armed with automatic rifles shot Ibragim Yevloyev, 35, and his colleague Beslan Albogachiyev in a downtown cafe, killing Yevloyev and seriously injuring Albogachiyev, a representative of the Investigative Committee told Interfax.
Police have opened an investigation but named no suspects Wednesday. Magomed Yevloyev's father, Yakhya, denied that the family was involved in the attack.
“He had many enemies,” Yakhya Yevloyev said of Ibragim Yevloyev, who is not related to the journalist, Interfax reported.
Magomed Yevloyev, who ran the opposition web site Ingushetia.org, was detained at a local airport in August 2008 and shot dead in a police car.
In December, a court convicted Ibragim Yevloyev of involuntary manslaughter, ruling that the police officer had “unintentionally” pulled the trigger of his gun, killing Yevloyev. Supporters of the slain journalist say he was murdered.