21 April 2020, 12:38
Rights defenders demand state protection for journalist threatened by Kadyrov
The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has demanded to ensure state protection of the journalist, Elena Milashina, and initiate a criminal case against the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The rights defenders' appeal was signed by over a hundred people.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 6, Elena Milashina, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper, and a Krasnodar lawyer, Marina Dubrovina, were attacked in a Grozny hotel. The police in Chechnya "show no activity" in the inquiry into the incident, Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, has explained.
"The authorities of the Russian Federation are again putting up with Kadyrov's criminal actions. On April 13, he threatened with executions against employees of the 'Novaya Gazeta'," the HRC "Memorial" has stated.
According to the HRC, "this is not the first public appeal of Kadyrov and his retinue to commit grave crimes."
"Such statements by Chechen officials have repeatedly been followed by real grave crimes," rights defenders assert, emphasizing that "every time, Russian authorities refused to help in the inquiry."
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 21, 2020 at 00:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.