User:Crtew/Alexander Khodzinsky

Alexander Khodzinsky
Born	ca. 1938
Died	July 7, 2012 Tulun, Irkutsk region, Siberia
Cause of death	Homicide
Nationality	Russian
Occupation	Freelance journalist
Employer	Kompas-TV
Known for	Exposes on corruption by officials in Tulun
Title	Investigative Reporter

Moscow

Tulun

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Tulun is in Russia and shown relative to the capital Moscow.

Alexander Khodzinsky, also known as Alexander Khodzinsky, (1938 – 2012), a Russian investigative reporter with Kompas-TV in Tulun, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia worked on an expose about the harmful materials being used by construction companies and corruption involving a shopping mall at the time he was killed.

Personal history

Khodzinsky was a 74-year-old journalist who had wrote and interviewed for many different companies. He wrote many different exposes on controversial topics in different countries to help enlighten the citizens of what was actually going on in their country.

Career

Alexander Khodzinsky launched a campaign against a brand new mall being built in Tulun that was using harmful materials along with interrupting traffic. He was working as a freelance journalist at this time and was reporting on the issues that were coming along with this new mall. The company that was building this mall was owned by the deputy mayors current wife. He tried to get authorities to help control the issues, but they would not listen to what he had to say. Khodzinsky was reporting for Kompas- TV at the time of his death in Siberia.

Death

Alexander Khodzinsky was found stabbed to death on July 7, 2012. He was found with seven stab wombs located in the stomach, chest and leg. The body was found hidden in the bushes on the side of a house on Tukhachevsky Street. G

Gennady Zhigarev, former deputy major of Tulun, reportedly drove to Khodzinsky's summer home. Upon arriving, he sprayed Khodzinsky in the face with a can of aersol before stabbing him to death. Zhiharev reportedly killed Khodzinsky due to long lasting conflicts between the two of them. He was sentenced to 1 year and 10 months on house arrest. Zhigarev initially had the charge of deliberate killing which would lead to a sentence of 6 to 8 years in prison. The court stated that the victim "badly insulted" the defendant so the initial charge was dropped and received a lesser sentence. Later, a psychiatric report stated that Zhigarey was in a "state of disturbance" during the time he murdered Khodzinsky.

Context

Alexander Khodzinsky was a retired freelance journalist for Kompas-TV. Khodzinsky was reporting on the new shopping mall in Tulun that was being constructed using illegal materials. The new mall was owned by Gennady Zhigaryov's wife.

Impact

Reporters Without Borders reported and gave statements on Khodzinsky's death in July. One statement they released was, "Given his local profile and tenacious coverage of several sensitive stories, we will closely monitor how they investigate this murder and, in particular, whether they seriously examine the possibility that it was linked to his work." The editor of the Siberian newspaper was also recently murdered in 2017. There have been thirty-seven journalists murdered since 1992.

Reactions

"Gennady Zhigarev stabbed the 74-year-old journalist Alexander Khodzinsky while in a 'state of emotional disturbance.'" -City court ruled due to psychiatric report

"It is out of the question to call it just. The punishment for the murderer does not match the severity of the crime.... "This sentence, like other similar court decisions, undermines belief in fairness. It lowers the level of trust not only in the courts but also in the country's authorities as a whole,"" -Valery Lukin, region's rights ombudsman

See also

• List of journalists killed in Russia