15 July 2023, 21:55
Human rights defenders request state protection for Milashina
An investigator from Chechnya questioned in Moscow Elena Milashina, a journalist of the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta”, in connection with an attack on her in Grozny. A lawyer of the “Team Against Torture” (TaT)* requested the investigators to provide the journalist with state protection for investigative actions in Chechnya in connection with the threat to her life.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Elena Milashina and advocate Alexander Nemov were discharged from a Moscow hospital after the attack on them in Chechnya, when they were on their way to a trial in a case against Zarema Musaeva. Doctors said that Elena Milashina got a traumatic brain injury, numerous bruises, and up to 14 fractures.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, promised to “investigate the incident,” Chechen Ombudsman Mansur Soltaev called the attack a provocation, and Akhmed Dudaev, Chechen Minister of Press, pointed out that “the style of Western intelligence services” could be traced in the attack.
The journalist fears for her life if she appears in Chechnya. The attackers threatened to kill her if she returned to Chechnya. “We already beat you, you didn’t understand. This is the second warning, and there won’t be a third one,” Elena Milashina quoted the attackers as telling her.
*The “Team against Torture” (formerly the “Committee against Torture” – CaT) was created by the lawyers who had earlier worked for the CaT, which was included into the register of the NCOs performing the functions of foreign agents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 14, 2023 at 08:43 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
