the ukrainian photographer Maks Levin He died, probably after being tortured, at the hands of Russian troops, an investigation by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published on Wednesday.
The body of Levin and his companion, soldier Oleksiy Chernishov, were found on April 1 in a forest on the outskirts of Moschchun, a village about 20 km from kyiv. Both men disappeared on March 13.
Between May 24 and June 3, RSF sent to the scene a team of investigators made up of, among others, war photographer Patrick Chauvel, who had worked alongside Maks Levin for a few days in the Donbas region at the end of february.
"The investigations revealed elements that indicate that the photojournalist and his companion were executed in cold blood, after probably having been interrogated and tortured by the Russian forces on the day of their disappearance."the researchers noted in their report.
To support their assertions, the investigators provide photos and a description of material evidence found according to them at the crime scene: bullets normally used by the Russian army, cigarette packs, food containers, instructions for the use of rockets…
The report states that the journalist and the soldier either died after being detected by Russian soldiers, or were captured and tortured. In the case of soldier Oleksiy Chernishov) he would have been burned alive.
The investigation "will support our sixth demand" before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, RSF told AFP.
The demand will focus "exclusively in the Maks Levin case"which had already been mentioned in a previous lawsuit along with several cases on May 27, the organization added.
RSF assures that it has already testified before the Ukrainian justice system, to which it provided photos of the scene of the crime.
Levin is one of eight journalists killed since the start of the war in Ukraine. The latest was Frenchman Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, who died after being hit by a shell fired by Russian forces on May 30.
