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Russian Feminist Activist Killed in Turkey

Anastasia Yemelyanova. Anastasia Yemelyanova / Instagram

Russian feminist and anti-war activist Anastasia Yemelyanova was found dead in Turkey, her colleagues said late Sunday.

Yemelyanova’s fiancé was detained on charges of murder in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum, fellow activist Anastasia Polozkova wrote on Instagram.

“Nastya [Yemelyanova] was killed three days ago,” Polozkova said, adding that she had gone missing on Wednesday.

The slain activist hosted a show on the YouTube channel “Feministki Poyasnyayut” (“Feminists Explain”), in which she campaigned against domestic violence.

“Nastya was very careful about safety: she always let me know where she was and with whom and always shared her location,” Polozkova said. 

Turkish police initially refused to file a missing person report, according to Polozkova.

She said that Yemelyanova's fiancé, identified only by his first name Nizar, is believed to have murdered her. The pair lived together in Erzurum, where Nizar studied engineering. 

The independent Russian news outlet Activatica identified Nizar as a Syrian citizen who had moved to Turkey.

Russian diplomats and Turkish authorities are currently working on repatriating Yemelyanova’s body, Polozkova said.

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