A murder investigation has been launched by Russia’s investigative committee after a top scientist, Andrey Botikov, was found dead in his apartment in Moscow.
Botikov was one of the 18 scientists involved in the development of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in 2020. He was identified as the victim of the murder, having been strangled to death with a belt. Earlier reports had suggested that Botikov had survived an encounter with an intruder, who broke into his apartment and had an argument with him over money. However, a 29-year-old man has since been arrested and charged with the murder.
The Investigative Committee of Russia claimed to have found the suspect in the shortest possible time after he tried to flee the scene. The defendant confessed to the crime during an interrogation, according to the committee.
The committee also stated that the defendant had already been prosecuted for committing another ‘serious’ crime. Russian media reported that the suspect, known as Alexei Z, had spent 10 years in prison on charges of providing sex services.
Andrey Botikov was a senior researcher at the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, and had been awarded an Order of Merit for the Fatherland for his contribution to the development of the Sputnik V vaccine.
Critics had previously raised concerns about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, but a 2021 article in The Lancet claimed that the vaccine “appeared safe and effective.”
This is not the first time that a high-profile individual in Russia has died in suspicious circumstances. In February, Russian General Vladimir Makarov was found shot dead in an apparent suicide at his country home, after being fired from his top job of “combating extremism” in Russia. In December, a Russian sausage tycoon was found dead after falling out of a window to his death while staying at a hotel in India.
»Russian scientist who created Covid vaccine found dead in his Moscow apartment«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯