Mozambique’s Justice Ministry said Monday it was not aware of an alleged decision by Russian authorities not to authorize an autopsy of the Russian ambassador found dead Saturday in Maputo.
Alexander Surikov, 68, was found dead on Saturday evening at his official residence in Maputo, and Russian authorities have not authorized any examination of the body, according to Mozambican police.
“About this topic [a não autorização de autópsia] I can not talk (…). I have no knowledge. But, of course, any criminal incident, if applicable, is taken into account by the prosecutor’s office,” said Nazimo Mussa, a spokesman for the prosecutor general’s office, on the sidelines of a department meeting in Maputo.
According to the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), to which Lusa had access, the “presumption” of the investigation is “sudden death of unknown causes,” however, when the police picket arrived at the morgue of the Maputo Central Department, the hospital “found that the body was already packed.”
“And according to instructions from Russia, which were received by the technical group of the picket through the consul of this Federation, Mr. Yuri Doroshenkov, who was present at the morgue, accompanied by an embassy security officer, was instructed not to do anything (…) an examination of the body, much less an autopsy.” , – the information says.
“However, the technical team photographed the body of the deceased in the desk drawer, photographed his home and took statements from the consul,” he added.
In one of the few statements to the media, Ambassador Surikov, in an interview with Lusa on February 2, announced Moscow’s readiness to support Maputo in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado if requested, noting, however, that the support the country receives is sufficient.
“If Mozambique demands something, we are on your side, but now the situation is not so dramatic,” said Alexander Surikov, answering a question asked by Lusa on the sidelines of an event at the Palacio da Ponta Vermelha, the official residence of Mozambique. President of Mozambique in Maputo.
The Russian ambassador even stated that Maputo “can always count on Russia”: “We have many years of experience in military cooperation with Mozambique, we helped this country build its armed forces, and they are well aware of our capabilities. they need some specific help, we are always there,” he said then.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.