Russian journalist dies of injuries 2 weeks after police beating

A Russian journalist who was brutally beaten by a policeman while under detention has died of his injuries while still in coma, prosecutors said Wednesday, DPA reported.

The Interfax agency cited a prosecutor's office spokesman in reporting the death of the 47-year-old journalist in the Siberian city of Tomsk.

In early January, the victim was in a detention cell to sober up when a policeman brutally beat him, without apparent cause. The journalist was taken to hospital and never regained consciousness.

The policeman, 26, had mentioned "private reasons" behind his brutal attack on the man. He faces 10 years' prison if found guilty. Three police officers who were on duty at the time of the beating have since been dismissed.

The incident was the latest involving attacks against journalists in Russia, as well as attacks by militias against innocent civilians.

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, of the Moscow section of the Helsinki human rights group, expressed her shock at the journalist's death and demanded that the Interior Ministry must "finally have a new way of thinking."