MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian investigators ruled out foul play on Friday in the death of a journalist who was investigating arms deals shortly before he fell from a window in his apartment building.
But the Kommersant newspaper where the journalist, Ivan Safronov, worked said it believed the official investigation had not been thorough enough.
Safronov's colleagues have treated his death with suspicion. Russia has a reputation as a dangerous place for journalists. Last year, investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in Moscow.
Safronov's body was discovered in front of his Moscow apartment block in March. His death was initially treated as suicide, but a murder investigation was opened after his colleagues at the newspaper complained.
"The investigation has discovered no crime in the case. The 'criminal' theory was investigated in full during the investigation. No evidence for the theory were uncovered," an official with the prosecutor's office was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
Kommersant deputy editor Ilya Bulavinov said:
"The investigation was formal and all formalities have been respected, but I had the impression it was investigated to respect formalities, rather than to find out the real reasons for his death," he told Reuters.
At the time of his death, colleagues of Safranov, 51, said they found it impossible to believe the gregarious reporter and former military officer had taken his own life.
His newspaper said he had been investigating politically sensitive deals to export Russian weapons systems to the Middle East, and that he had been warned about his activities by Russian intelligence.
The New York-based journalist rights group Campaign for the Protection of Journalists estimates 13 Russian journalists have been killed in contract-style killings since 2000, excluding Safronov's death. No one has been convicted.
