Prominent Russian journalist 'severely beaten' in attack in Chechnya

CNN

Elena Milashina, a prominent Russian journalist who uncovered the horrific crackdown on gay men in Chechnya, was severely beaten alongside a lawyer in an attack in the southern Russian republic, according to her employer Novaya Gazeta.

Milashina and attorney Alexander Nemov were on the way to attend a court sentencing of a human rights activist in Chechnya’s regional capital, Grozny, when their car was blocked on the road and attacked by armed men, who broke the journalist’s fingers, stabbed the lawyer, and smashed the pair’s equipment, according to Novaya Gazeta.

“Several masked people severely beat Elena and Alexander, took their phones, demanding they unblocked them, destroyed their equipment and documents,” Novaya Gazeta said in a statement. “They beat them with batons and kicked them with their feet.”

“Elena Milashina has a closed head wound and several broken fingers on her hands,” the newspaper’s statement said, adding that Milashina “passed out several times.”

Images published by the newspaper showed Milashina, whose head appeared to have been shaven, covered in a green substance and with bandages on both her hands.

Nemov was beaten and stabbed with a knife, but he still planned on attending the court hearing, according to the newspaper.

Novaya Gazeta reported that the perpetrators are unknown, also noting that Milashina and Nemov were asked to give a statement to police at the hospital but refused.

Milashina and attorney Alexander Nemov were on the way to attend a court sentencing of a human rights activist in Grozny when they were attacked.

Milashina and Nemov were attending a court ruling in the case of Zarema Musaeva – the mother of Chechen activists, the Yangulbaev brothers, who are vocal critics of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Musaeva was sentenced to five years and six months in prison on charges of fraud and violence against a police officer, TASS said.

The Kremlin called it “a very serious attack” that required investigative actions and serious measures to be taken. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed of the attack and the incident is being handled by Russia’s human rights ombudsman.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the attack.

Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, “agreed to intervene in the situation on the request of the editorial office,” Novaya Gazeta said. CNN has reached out to Russia’s…