In Yekaterinburg, a memorial erected to the memory of Francois Njelassili, a graduate student from Gabon, has been vandalized by unidentified individuals. Njelassili, who studied at the Ural Federal University (UrFU), was fatally wounded in a fight with a local resident. The destruction of the memorial was reported by "Vechernye Vedomosti" on August 21 with reference to eyewitnesses of the incident.
A memorial to a graduate student of UrFU from Gabon, Francois Njelassili, was vandalized In Yekaterinburg. He died in a fight with local resident Danil Fomin. The public later restored the memorial and people brought new flowers to it.
The memorial in Yekaterinburg after being vandalized. Photo: "Vecherniye Vedomosti". Source: t.me
On the same day, August 21, Leninsky District Court took Fomin into custody. With a criminal case for murder investigated against him, he faces six to 15 years in prison.
Francois Njelassili died on August 19. According to his friends, two men approached him at a Burger King restaurant and with the phrase "Oh, look, a black guy, let's shank him" stabbed him in the armpit. The young man died of blood loss.
Danil Fomin's father offers two versions of the incident. By the first one, his son was trying to stand up for Francois Njelassili. According to the second, Fomin stood up for a girl, after which the graduate student started a fight. Vector magazine reported that Fomin may maintain right-wing radical views.