Global Courant
MOSCOW — Masked assailants in Russia’s Chechnya province attacked and brutally beat a prominent investigative reporter and a lawyer on Tuesday, an attack that revealed a violent pattern of rampant human rights violations in the region.
Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov had just arrived in Chechnya to attend the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities.
Just outside the airport, their vehicle was blocked by several cars and they were attacked by several unidentified masked assailants who beat them with batons, put guns to their heads and smashed their equipment.
Novaya Gazeta said Milashina suffered a brain injury and broken several fingers, and Nemov had a deep gash on his leg. They were taken to a hospital in Grozny, Chechnya’s main city, and later to Beslan in the nearby region of North Ossetia. The newspaper said that Milashina repeatedly lost consciousness.
Milashina said in a video from a hospital bed that the attack looked like a “classic kidnapping.”
“They threw the driver out of the car, got in, lowered our heads, tied my hands, forced me to my knees and put a gun to my head,” she said, adding that the attackers were visibly nervous and struggling had her hands tied.
A photo from a hospital showed her talking on the phone, with green disinfectant on her face and multiple bruises on her shaved head.
Officials considered their medical evacuation to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call with reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was aware of the incident. Peskov added that “it was a very serious attack that warrants energetic action” by law enforcement agencies.
Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova asked investigators to investigate the attack on Milashina and Nemov.
Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development and Mass Communication denounced the “monstrous attack” on Milashina and Nemov and said it will provide them with necessary assistance. The ministry added that it urged law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate the attack and punish the perpetrators.
The strong statements by the Russian authorities contrasted with a muted official response to previous attacks on Milashina and other journalists and human rights activists who have exposed human rights violations in Chechnya.
Milashina has long denounced human rights violations in Chechnya and has faced threats, intimidation and attacks. In 2020, Milashina and a lawyer accompanying her were beaten up by a dozen people in the lobby of their hotel. Last year, she temporarily left Russia after being threatened by Chechen authorities.
She has received acclaim for her investigative reports, including exposing the torture and murder of gays in Chechnya and other abuses by feared Chechen paramilitary forces.
In 2013, Milashina received an International Women of Courage Award from the United States Department of State.
Hours after Tuesday’s attack on Milashina and Nemov, a court in Grozny Zarema sentenced Musayeva to 5½ years in prison on charges of insult and violent resistance to police, a charge that human rights groups have dismissed as trumped up.
Musayeva has been in custody in Grozny since Chechen security forces seized her from her home in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod in January 2022 and brought her to Chechnya. Her husband, a former judge, and her two activist sons have left Chechnya. Chechnya’s strong regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused the Musayev family of terrorist links and said they should be imprisoned or killed.
The Kremlin relies on Kadyrov to keep the North Caucasus stable after two devastating separatist wars. International rights groups have accused Kadyrov’s feared security forces of extrajudicial killings, torture and kidnappings of dissenters. His influence has increased since the beginning of Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine, in which his security forces have actively participated.
Repeated calls by international human rights groups for an end to abuses in Chechnya have been thwarted by Russian authorities.
Despite the support of the Kremlin, Kadyrov reportedly has strained relations with some Russian law enforcement agencies. The angry response from officials and Kremlin-linked lawmakers could indicate authorities’ intentions to downsize the Chechen strongman.
Andrei Klishas, head of the upper house’s constitutional affairs committee, said the attack on Milashina and Nemov warrants a “tough response” from law enforcement agencies, and another senior lawmaker, Alexander Khinshtein, denounced it as “criminal” and urged to prosecutors to prioritize the case.
