Russian activists confirmed Tuesday that a woman found dead of stab wounds in Saint Petersburg earlier this week was a well-known human rights activist who had been threatened over her work for LGBT rights and opposition causes.
Yelena Grigoryeva, 41, was active with Russia's Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBTQ for Equality and other activist causes, according to the Russian LGBT Network.
"An activist of democratic, anti-war and LGBT movements Yelena Grigoryeva was brutally murdered near her house," opposition campaigner Dinar Idrisov wrote on Facebook. He said she had recently reported threats of violence to the police, but they took no action.
Friends and fellow activists said Grigoryeva's name was listed on a Russian website that identified LGBT activists and called for vigilante action against them.
Saint Petersburg online newspaper Fontanka said Grigoryeva was found with knife injuries to her back and face and had apparently been strangled. A 40-year-old male suspect from the region of Bashkortostan has been arrested, it reported.
