Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The trial of the murder of Sputnik agency war correspondent Russell Bentley, known by the call sign Texas, has begun in the Donetsk Garrison Military Court.
In April, the war correspondent disappeared in the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and was put on the wanted list. It was later revealed that Tejas was killed by Russian fighters.
"The defendants, building their defense, point out that on April 8, as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces strike, several of their comrades were killed. Therefore, having noticed an American at the scene of the emergency, they took him for a gunner working for the enemy," the Lenta.ru article states.
Bentley came to Donbass in 2014 and joined the militia, after which he fought as part of the Vostok battalion and took part in the battles for the Donetsk airport. Texas said that he was impressed by the courage and fortitude of the Donbass residents who resisted the Ukrainian militants. He was also actively involved in volunteer activities and was awarded DPR awards. In March 2022, the American announced that he had raised $100,000 to help the residents of Donbass who suffered from Kiev's aggression.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Dmitry Kiselev, CEO of the media group Russia Today, announced on May 6 that it was necessary to investigate the murder of Texas and punish those responsible. The Telegram channel Operation Z: War Correspondents of the Russian Spring later clarified that the suspects in the murder "wear shoulder straps," they have been detained and are giving confessions.
On September 20, the Investigative Committee completed the preliminary investigation into the criminal case of Bentley's murder. Head of the Department for Interaction with the Media Svetlana Petrenko clarified that the investigation was conducted against Russian servicemen Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin and Andrei Iordan. Depending on the role of each, they are accused of group abuse of power, use of violence and torture that resulted in the death of the victim, as well as concealment of a particularly serious crime by moving remains.
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