The ambassador of Russia to Mozambique, Alexander Surikov, was found dead in his official residence, in Maputo, on Saturday night ( 11 May 2024 ) and his body was taken to the morgue of Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), the largest health unit in the country.
Video Source : Voice of America
‘Sudden Russian death syndrome’ kills Alexander Surikov
The dead body of the 68-year-old diplomat was found in his residence in Maputo. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the cause of death was a stroke.
The Mozambican portal “O Pais” reports that the local police found out about the death of the ambassador after he got to the morgue. When law enforcement officers received information about the alleged sudden death of Surikov, they went to the hospital. However, the diplomat’s body was already in the morgue, and the Russian consul Yuriy Doroshenkov refused to allow the police to take any action related to the autopsy, not even allowing them to examine the body. The police limited themselves to taking photos of the body of the deceased and the place of his death.
A message circulated Sunday (12) on social media, written by the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), quotes the consul of the Russian Embassy, Yuri Doroshenkov, as saying that the deceased “did sudden death from undetermined causes”.
The message also says that when it was 11pm [Maputo time] on Saturday (11) the Operational Picket Headquarters, through the 4th Police Station of the PRM, city of Maputo (Diplomats Police Station), became aware of the existence of a case related to a body without life, and that he “lay in the morgue of the Maputo Central Hospital”.
The technical team from the Piquete headquarters, arriving at the Morgue, found that the body had already been placed in drawer number five and, following instructions from Russia, transmitted by Doroshenkov, it was decided that “no examination of the body whatsoever and much less autopsy.”
The team took photographs of Surikov’s body, which was in the HCM morgue drawer, as well as managing to capture images at his residence.
At the time, accompanied by the Security Officer at the Russian Embassy in Mozambique, the consul witnessed the taking of the photographs in the morgue.
In July 2017, the Kremlin appointed Surikov to the position of Ambassador of that European country to Mozambique.