Two members of a neo-Nazi group have been charged with planning to assassinate RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, the Russian Investigative Committee has said.
The investigation into the case has been completed and handed over to prosecutors, the agency said in a statement on Monday.
Simonyan posted on X that she was thankful to those who prevented the planned attack. “My deepest gratitude to our law enforcement officers for their work,” she wrote.
The assassination plot against the RT editor-in-chief was prepared by members of a Moscow-based cell of the banned the National Socialism/White Power group, according to the agency.
The cell, called ‘Pure Blood’, was set up in 2022 by Mikhail Balashov, who recruited at least 11 people with “national-socialist and racist views.”
“Additionally, on the order of unidentified individuals, Balashov and the cell’s other member, Egor Savelyev, agreed to kill journalist Margarita Simonyan for a cash reward of $50,000,” the statement read.
Hellbound and Down 