Politician dies after attack in Dagestan

The leader of the Yabloko party in Dagestan has died in hospital following an assassination attempt on Wednesday. Farid Babayev fell into a coma after he was shot outside his house in the republic's capital Makhachkala.

Yabloko's party leader, Grigory Yavlinsky, claims the murder was politically motivated.

“Farid Babayev was a human rights activist, he had been looking into and fighting against kidnappings in Dagestan, corruption cases and the consequences of military operations that resulted in innocent peoples' deaths. He sharply criticized Dagestani authorities.

We think it's becoming more common that people who talk badly about the authorities find themselves under pressure… Now it's the shooting of a party list leader ten days before the election.

We think it's a vivid example of the atmosphere around the election in Dagestan in particular and in Russia in general,” he said.