Early on Wednesday morning, Jelena Milasjina got into a taxi. She is an investigative journalist for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and was on her way to Grozny to cover a trial. The defense attorney, Alexander Nemov, sat with her. Milasjina is an investigative journalist at Novaya Gazeta. Photo: Morten Holm / NTB The human rights organization he works for, the Committee against Torture, thinks they must have met on the plane and coincidentally even in the same car, because they don’t know each other well. Then the taxi must have suddenly slowed down. Three cars surrounded and forced the driver to stop, says deputy director of the organisation, Olga Sadovskaja to news. The passengers were dragged out of their seats and “severely beaten up”, she continued. – They clearly told her: “Stop traveling here and stop writing about this”. Chechnya is a Russian region located in the far south, and has the status of a republic in Russia. Moved to new hospital Milasjina has a concussion, and Nemov is struggling to walk after the attack, according to those who are with them on Wednesday afternoon. – They are both in shock, so it will be difficult to judge how they feel mentally until a little later. – But they communicate, they understand what has happened, and know that there are many people who support them. Nemov on his way into the ambulance, with Milasjina behind him. Photo: CREW AGAINST TORTURE / Reuters Since they were admitted to the nearby hospital, Milasjina and Nemov have been transferred to a neighboring region to receive treatment there, says Sadovskaja. At the first hospital, Milashina was visited by Mansur Soltayev, a Chechen human rights commissioner, according to Reuters. – It was a classic kidnapping. They threw our driver out of the car, got in, forced our heads down, tied my hands, forced me down on my knees and pointed a gun at my head, Milasjina said during the visit. Milashina and Nemov (left) met the human rights commissioner in Chechnya (centre) at the hospital after the attack. Photo: CREW AGAINST TORTURE / Reuters They will now be together with lawyers from the Committee against Torture. According to the plan, they will be transported to Moscow for further treatment. – We have no confidence in the medical examination in Grozny, and we believe that staying there would have been a constant threat to Jelena, says Sadovskaja. Covered in the same fabric as Navalny The antiseptic that Milashina has on her body is the same that Alexei Navalny has been attacked with before, Sadovskaja believes. Zeljonka, or “brilliant green”, is a common antiseptic substance in Russia that has been used in protests and attacks. – It looks fun, but it hurts like hell, tweeted Navalny after one of the attacks. According to a report in Russian, he suffered chemical damage to his eye from the substance. Navalny allowed himself to be photographed after being attacked in Moscow. Photo: Evgeny Feldman / AP It is also not the first time Milasjina has been attacked. In February 2020, she was assaulted in the lobby of her hotel in Grozny, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports. The editors are said to have received a threatening letter addressed to her, which demanded that she should “forget Chechnya”. Sadovskaja believes that the perpetrators behind Wednesday’s attack will probably never be identified, based on the organisation’s previous experiences. The news agency Reuters has not been able to get a comment from the Chechen authorities. – A very brave journalist Milasjina accepted the Sakharov Prize in Oslo on behalf of Novaya Gazeta six years ago, together with the Committee against Torture, which Sadovskaja represented. Inna Sangadzjieva is director for Europe and Central Asia at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and has known Milasjina for 13 years. – Jelena Milasjina is a very brave woman. A brave journalist, who since 2010 took over the coverage of Chechnya. Sangadzhieva says Milasjina is faithful to the cases she works with. This is after journalist Anna Politkovskaja and human rights activist Natalia Estimirova were killed in the country. Milasjina herself has been attacked many times, and yet came back to cover important issues, says Sangadzhieva. – What has happened today is the latest in a long series of abuses by Russian authorities. This is unfair. – Journalists have been warning for several years about how dangerous the Russian government is. Today, there is no legal protection, especially for activists and journalists. Should be in the trial of Zarema Musajeva They were both present in Grozny to cover the conviction of Zarema Musajeva, which took place on Tuesday. Nemov is the lawyer who was supposed to represent her. Musayeva is a Chechen woman, and was accused of fraud and assault on a police officer. Nemov is the lawyer of Zarema Musajeva, and a member of the Committee against Torture. Photo: AP Critics see the case against her as revenge on the sons and the husband, who was seen as disloyal to the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and has fled the country. The court proceeded without the defense lawyer present, and sentenced Musajeva to five and a half years in a penal colony. Sadovskaja calls this a “death sentence”.
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Well-known Russian journalist and lawyer attacked in Chechnya – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
