Masked assailants in the Russian province of Chechnya attacked and brutally beat a prominent investigative reporter and a lawyer on Tuesday, an assault that highlighted a violent pattern of rampant human rights abuses in the region.
Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov, were attacked soon after they had arrived in Chechnya to attend the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities.
"They threw the driver out of the car, got in, bent our heads down, tied my hands, forced me down to my knees and put a gun to my head," she said, adding that the assailants were visibly nervous and had trouble tying her hands. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident. Peskov added that "it was a very serious assault that warrants energetic measures" from law enforcement agencies.
The strong statements and a quick response from Russian authorities contrasted with a muted official reaction to previous attacks on Milashina and other journalists and human rights activists in Chechnya. Amnesty International strongly condemned Tuesday's attack on Milashina and Nemov and urged Russian authorities to track down the assailants. "This callous crime exemplifies the extreme dangers that those who fight injustice and defend human rights face in a context of open hostility from the authorities and total impunity for perpetrators," Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said in a statement.
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