Russian artist missing in Germany
Published: March 28, 2008 at 2:06 PM
BERLIN, March 28 (UPI) -- Police said there has been no sign of Anna Mikhalchuk since the controversial artist left her Berlin home to run errands last week.
Mikhalchuk, who is also known professionally as Anna Alchuk, made headlines when her 2003 art exhibition "Caution! Religion" sparked outrage from the Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Church.
The 52-year-old artist was acquitted in March 2005 on charges of inflaming religious hatred and she moved to Berlin with her husband, philosopher Mikhail Ryklin, in November.
A team of five police divers were searching a lake near her home while more than 80 officers were searching the surrounding areas for clues to her whereabouts, Deutsche Welle reported.
"The woman, who is considered reliable, left her home near Lietzen Lake Friday around 3 p.m.," the police said in a statement. "Since then there has been no sign of her."
Mikhalchuk's husband wrote a letter to the police Saturday, revealing he had received several anonymous threats in the past, Der Tagesspiegel said.
"A politically motivated or anti-Semitic crime cannot be ruled out," Ryklin wrote in the letter, which was quoted by the newspaper.
The couple is Jewish.
Mikhalchuk, who is also known professionally as Anna Alchuk, made headlines when her 2003 art exhibition "Caution! Religion" sparked outrage from the Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Church.
The 52-year-old artist was acquitted in March 2005 on charges of inflaming religious hatred and she moved to Berlin with her husband, philosopher Mikhail Ryklin, in November.
A team of five police divers were searching a lake near her home while more than 80 officers were searching the surrounding areas for clues to her whereabouts, Deutsche Welle reported.
"The woman, who is considered reliable, left her home near Lietzen Lake Friday around 3 p.m.," the police said in a statement. "Since then there has been no sign of her."
Mikhalchuk's husband wrote a letter to the police Saturday, revealing he had received several anonymous threats in the past, Der Tagesspiegel said.
"A politically motivated or anti-Semitic crime cannot be ruled out," Ryklin wrote in the letter, which was quoted by the newspaper.
The couple is Jewish.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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