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Former Russian press minister died in U.S. of blunt force injuries

11 March 2016 04:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Former Russian Press Minister Mikhail Lesin, who was found dead in a Washington hotel room last year, died of blunt force injuries to the head, authorities said on Thursday, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Lesin who once headed state-controlled media giant Gazprom-Media, also had blunt force injuries to the neck, torso, arms and legs, the U.S. capital's chief medical examiner and the Metropolitan Police Department said in a brief statement.

According to a police incident report, Lesin, who was press minister from 1999 to 2004 under President Vladimir Putin, was found unconscious on Nov. 5 on the floor of the Doyle Washington Hotel by someone who went into his room to check on him. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Russia's RT television quoted family members at the time as saying he had died of a heart attack.

ABC News has said Lesin had been accused of censoring Russia's independent media. He became head of Gazprom-Media Holding in 2013 but resigned the following year.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington was not immediately available for comment.