BUDYONNOVSK, Southern Russia -- Russian Interior Ministry troops shot and killed a Russian journalist at a roadblock near this embattled city, according to her husband, who escaped the attack uninjured.
Journalists bade a tearful farewell Sunday to Natalya Alyakina, 40, who was shot dead while the car she was riding in approached Budyonnovsk on Saturday evening.
Alyakina's husband, Gizbert Mrozek, his hands still covered with his wife's blood, knelt by the coffin and took his wife's white hands in his.
"My love,'' he said, talking through his tears, then addressed the other mourners.
"Yesterday morning we spoke of going here,'' he said. "We were afraid but we decided that we had to. We thought that if we don't come close, it would not be that dangerous. But we had to tell the people what is happening here.''
Mrozek said Interior Ministry soldiers fired at the rear of the vehicle after checking it and allowing it to pass through a roadblock on the outskirts of the city.
Two bullets fired from a machine gun mounted on the troops' armored vehicle mortally wounded Alyakina, who worked for the German RUFA news agency and Focus magazine. Her driver was wounded, but her husband, who sat in the front, was not hurt.
In Bonn on Sunday, Focus accused the Russian soldiers of murdering Alyakina in cold blood as she traveled to report the hostage crisis.
"The security forces bade the couple farewell with good wishes. After 100 meters the car was shot at. Natasha was hit so badly that she died in the arms of her husband," the Munich-based magazine said.
Mrozek told other journalists on Saturday he doubted the incident was really a mistake.
"I don't think it was an accident," he said. "I screamed at the post commander: 'Why? Why?' like so many other people in this country are asking right now."
Authorities said they detained a soldier on suspicion of premeditated murder. (AP, Reuters)
Journalists bade a tearful farewell Sunday to Natalya Alyakina, 40, who was shot dead while the car she was riding in approached Budyonnovsk on Saturday evening.
Alyakina's husband, Gizbert Mrozek, his hands still covered with his wife's blood, knelt by the coffin and took his wife's white hands in his.
"My love,'' he said, talking through his tears, then addressed the other mourners.
"Yesterday morning we spoke of going here,'' he said. "We were afraid but we decided that we had to. We thought that if we don't come close, it would not be that dangerous. But we had to tell the people what is happening here.''
Mrozek said Interior Ministry soldiers fired at the rear of the vehicle after checking it and allowing it to pass through a roadblock on the outskirts of the city.
Two bullets fired from a machine gun mounted on the troops' armored vehicle mortally wounded Alyakina, who worked for the German RUFA news agency and Focus magazine. Her driver was wounded, but her husband, who sat in the front, was not hurt.
In Bonn on Sunday, Focus accused the Russian soldiers of murdering Alyakina in cold blood as she traveled to report the hostage crisis.
"The security forces bade the couple farewell with good wishes. After 100 meters the car was shot at. Natasha was hit so badly that she died in the arms of her husband," the Munich-based magazine said.
Mrozek told other journalists on Saturday he doubted the incident was really a mistake.
"I don't think it was an accident," he said. "I screamed at the post commander: 'Why? Why?' like so many other people in this country are asking right now."
Authorities said they detained a soldier on suspicion of premeditated murder. (AP, Reuters)