Unidentified people beat journalist Milashina in Chechnya and stabbed lawyer Musayeva Nemov with a knife
Former Novaya Gazeta journalist Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov were beaten in Chechnya.
Milashina and Nemov arrived in the republic for the announcement of the verdict for Zarema Musaeva, the wife of the former judge of the Supreme Court of the republic, Saidi Yangulbaev, who is accused of assaulting a security official.
Armed people blocked the car of Nemov and Milashina on the way from the airport
The journalist and the lawyer drove out of the airport in Grozny, where three cars blocked their way. People came out of them and started beating Milashina and Nemov with their feet on the body and face and putting a gun to their heads.
You have been warned. Get out of here and don’t write anything
Milashina was shaved baldly and doused with brilliant green, Nemov was stabbed in the leg
The victims were taken to a hospital in Grozny, where doctors diagnosed them with multiple bruises. Milashina, in particular, broken fingers on her hands, she periodically loses consciousness, and Nemov speaks and moves with difficulty.
Milashina and Nemov decided to transfer to Beslan
According to human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova, the victims will be transported by ambulance, they will be accompanied by the Chechen Ombudsman Mansur Soltaev. Moskalkova promised that the safety of the journalist and the lawyer would be fully ensured. She also turned to the investigators and prosecutors of Chechnya with a request to look into the situation.
The main thing now is to ensure safety and medical care for Elena Milashina and Alexander Nemov. The fact that they are being transported to Beslan is good. We’ll figure it out next. I am sending a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia and the Investigative Committee of Russia for this case to be taken under control
The State Duma called the incident unacceptable
State Duma deputy Yevgeny Popov also said that he would send a request to Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov. In turn, Senator Andrei Klishas consideredthat the attack on Milashina and Nemov in Chechnya requires a tough response from law enforcement agencies.
The head of the Union of Journalists of Russia (UJR), Vladimir Solovyov, reacting to the beating of a former Novaya Gazeta employee, said that the organization was studying the situation, but no one had turned to them for help.
Milashina was forced to temporarily leave Russia in 2022 due to threats
The journalist reported that the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Dmitry Muratov, as well as “rather high-ranking sources” who knew her, insisted on leaving. Commenting on Milashina’s actions at the time, Solovyov, head of the UJR, pointed out the importance of journalists’ appeals to the courts and the Public Collegium for Press Complaints.
On the day of the attack, Zarema Musaeva was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison
This decision was taken by the Akhmatovsky Court of Grozny. The Russian woman was found guilty under the article on the use of violence against a representative of the authorities.
Musayeva was detained on February 2, 2022. She was taken from her home in Nizhny Novgorod and taken to Chechnya. According to law enforcement officers, she grabbed the policeman with her right hand by the left cheek and scratched him when he tried to draw up a protocol. Musayeva’s relatives called it a kidnapping, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, denied these accusations and declaredthat in Grozny she attacked a security official and “earned herself an article.”
#Journalist #Milashina #lawyer #Nemov #severely #beaten #Chechnya