NAZRAN (Russia), Aug 31: The owner of an opposition internet news site in Russia’s troubled Ingushetia region was shot dead on Sunday after being detained by police, prompting his colleagues to call for a protest rally.

Magomed Yevloyev is one of the most high-profile journalists killed in Russia since investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment in 2006.

Yevloyev, owner of the www.Ingushetiya.ru website, was a vocal critic of the region’s Kremlin-backed administration, which critics accuse of crushing dissent and free speech.

A lawyer for the site which survived repeated official attempts to close it down said police met Yevloyev at the steps of the aircraft after he flew in to Ingushetia’s airport, put him in a Volga saloon car and drove him away.

“As they drove he was shot in the temple ... They threw him out of the car nxear the hospital,” lawyer Kaloi Akhilgov said.— Reuters