The Russian ambassador to Mozambique, Alexander Surikov, 68, was found dead at his official residence in Maputo on Saturday night, and according to the Mozambican police, the Russian authorities have not authorised any examination of the body.
According to information from the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), to which Lusa had access, the “presumption” of the investigation is “sudden death from undetermined causes” however, when the police picket arrived at the morgue of the Maputo Central Hospital “they found that the body had already been packaged”.
“And according to instructions from Russia, which reached the picket’s technical team through the consul of that Federation, Yuri Doroshenkov, who was present at the morgue together with the embassy’s security officer, they were instructed not to carry out any (…) examination of the body, let alone an autopsy,” the information states.
“However, the technical team took photographs of the deceased’s body in the drawer, photographs were taken of the deceased’s home, and the consul’s statement was taken,” it added.
Lusa tried to get more information from the PRM command about this case, but it was left until Monday.
In one of his few statements to the media, Ambassador Surikov told Lusa on 2 February that Moscow was willing to support Maputo in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado in the event of a request, noting, however, that the support the country is receiving is sufficient.
“If Mozambique asks for something, we are there, but the situation is not so dramatic now,” said Alexandre Surikov, reacting to a question posed by Lusa on the sidelines of an event at the Ponta Vermelha Palace, the official residence of the president of Mozambique in Maputo.
The Russian ambassador even said that Maputo “can always count on Russia”. “We have many years of experience of cooperation in the military sphere with Mozambique. We have helped this country build its armed forces, and they know perfectly well about our capabilities. If they need any specific help, we are always there for them,” he said at the time.
Lusa
