Roddy Scott (23 February 1971 – 26 September 2002) was an English freelance photojournalist who documented neglected conflicts in such places as Sierra Leone, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
[2] He derived the bulk of his income from updating The World's Most Dangerous Places and traveled widely in his freelance journalism career, usually without sponsors or payment.
Pelton investigated the circumstances of his friend's death and determined that Scott indeed tried to surrender but was shot in the face by a Russian sniper while waving an improvised white flag borrowed from a local.
According to Pelton, the Russian government later tried to extort Scott's family, branding him as a "terrorist" and refusing to return the body or issue a death certificate unless money was paid.
Pelton arranged with CNN's Moscow bureau Jill Dougherty to run a lengthy profile on Scott's career as a journalist to counter the Russian propaganda.