Mikhail Voitenko fled to Istanbul after receiving a menacing telephone call over his report hinting the ship may have been carrying a secret shipment of we
A journalist who broke the story of a Russian cargo ship apparently hijacked by pirates announced he had fled Russia, fearing for his life.
Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the online maritime bulletin Sovfracht, said he had left the country after receiving a menacing late-night phone call. Voitenko said an unidentified man called him on Tuesday night and warned him he was “stepping on the heels of some serious people.”
PHOTO: EPA
Speaking by telephone from Istanbul, where he is in hiding, Voitenko said he was bluntly informed that these “guys are out for revenge. I was told: ‘They are very unhappy with you. But they don’t want unpleasantness.’”
Voitenko said the man urged him to leave Russia.
He said he intended to stay out of the country until “things calmed down.”
Voitenko was the first person to report on the disappearance of the Arctic Sea, which mysteriously vanished after passing through the Channel on July 28, carrying a £1.1 million (US$1.8 million) cargo of Finnish timber.
Russia says hijackers seized the ship four days earlier in international waters near Sweden and that its navy recovered the boat on Aug. 17 in the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.
Russia has charged eight people, mostly Estonians, with kidnapping and piracy. The story has dominated the Russian press, which has identified most of the kidnappers as ethnic Russians and has called in experts to identify the men from their tattoos.
Voitenko, however, has repeatedly cast doubt on the official version of events. The main source of information on the hijacking in the early days of the crisis, he has hinted that the ship may have been carrying a secret shipment of weapons, or, he suggested, “something much more expensive and dangerous.”
Sounding distinctly frightened, Voitenko said on Thursday he did not know the identity of his mystery caller. But he hinted that the man who spoke with a “chilling voice” may have represented the FSB, Russia’s powerful and secretive post-KGB spy agency. He also said that Russia was “deliberately covering up this mystery.”
Asked what was really hidden on board the Arctic Sea, he replied cryptically: “Half of those involved in this were private individuals. But half were linked with the state.”
Russia has for years endured chronic problems with criminal groups, some with murky links to the state, smuggling military and mineral wealth to lucrative markets overseas. From oil to missile components, Kalashnikovs to aircraft, the value of contraband disappearing across eastern and western borders is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Bribable officials and porous borders mean smugglers can often operate with impunity, though several high profile cases have been uncovered in recent months.
All 15 Russian sailors involved in the Arctic Sea drama were released unharmed. So far, however, they have failed to give a convincing account of what happened, with even Russia’s investigative committee head, Alexander Bastrykin, admitting last week that the ship “might have been carrying not only timber.”
Adding further intrigue, Russian chief of general staff, Nikolai Makarov, said the vessel would be searched for a possible secret cargo when it returns to Russia later this month.
Last night Voitenko said the fact the Arctic Sea’s disappearance has grown into an international scandal was hardly surprising.
“This isn’t a usual situation. You don’t normally get attacks on ships on the Baltic coast,” he said.apons
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS