Horrific photo shows true extent of beating on Russian journalist Elena Milashina, as she defiantly vows to return
6 July 2023, 09:13 | Updated: 6 July 2023, 09:23
A female Russian investigative journalist who was beaten up by armed thugs in Chechnya has defiantly pledged to return to the southern region, as a shocking photo emerges showing the extent of the attack.
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Elena Milashina, a reporter with the banned Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and lawyer Alexander Nemov, had her fingers broken, her head shaved and her face covered in green dye by the masked thugs on Tuesday.
Ms Milashina and Mr Nemov had come to the region for the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who challenged Chechen authorities. Ms Musayeva was found guilty and jailed.
They were treated in a local hospital, before being flown to Moscow for further medical attention.
Ms Milashina suffered a traumatic brain injury, 14 broken fingers and severe bruising, scans show.
A photo taken by her newspaper shows the impact of the beating on her back.
A criminal investigation has been launched by Russian federal authorities, although a Chechen minister claimed the attack "bears the hallmarks of Western special forces."
Despite the horrific attack, Milashina has vowed to return to Chechnya to report on Ms Musayeva's appeal.
During the attack, the thugs forced the car carrying the pair to stop, pulled them out and beat them severely.
Ms Milashina and Mr Nemov were rushed to hospital. Ms Milashina, who has a long record of exposing human rights abuses in Chechnya, passed out several times on the way.
Speaking from her hospital bed in the Chechen capital of Grozny, she told Mansur Soltayev, a Chechen human rights official: "They pinned (our driver) down, threw him out of his car, got in, bent our heads down, tied my hands, knelt me down there, and put a gun to my head.
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"They seemed nervous for some reason, so it was difficult for them to tie our hands."
The Memorial charity said the pair were "brutally kicked, including in the face, threatened with death, had a gun held to their heads, and had their equipment taken away and smashed."
The group said on Telegram: "While being beaten, they were told: 'You have been warned. Get out of here and don't write anything".
The Kremlin said Russian president Vladimir Putin had been told about the "very serious attack" on Ms Milashina. A spokesperson said the assault had to be investigated and followed by "energetic measures."
Musayeva was found guilty and given to five-and-a-half years in a penal colony on Tuesday. As she was being led to prison, she slipped a note to her lawyer wishing Mr Nemov and Ms Milashina well.
"Sashenka [a diminutive for Alexander], get better as soon as possible please. I wish you luck, success and good health from bottom of my heart.
"A huge thank you to everyone for everything you've done, all the very best to everyone.
"Lenochka [a diminutive for Elena], get better. Hold on, my dear."
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who presides over a notorious regime in Chechnya and is a vocal supporter of Putin, has not commented publicly.
Ms Milashina has long faced threats, intimidation and attacks for her work exposing Chechen human rights abuses.
In 2020, she and a lawyer accompanying her were beaten by a dozen people in the lobby of their hotel.
The Kremlin has relied on Mr Kadyrov to keep the region stable after two bloody separatist wars in the 1990s and 2000s. His father Akhmat switched sides to back Russia after the first Chechen war, becoming the leader of the region before being assassinated in 2004. His son succeeded him.
Mr Kadyrov's security services have been accused of killing, torturing and abducting people who oppose his regime.
Repeated demands by international human rights groups to end abuses in Chechnya have been stonewalled by Russian authorities.
Despite the Kremlin's support, Mr Kadyrov reportedly has had tense relations with some of Russia's law enforcement agencies.
Tuesday's attack quickly drew an angry reaction from Kremlin-connected politicians that could signal authorities' intentions to cut the Chechen strongman down to size.
Andrei Klishas, head of the constitutional affairs committee in the upper house, said the attack on Ms Milashina and Mr Nemov warrants a "tough response" from the law enforcement agencies and another senior politician, Alexander Khinshtein, denounced it as "criminal" and urged prosecutors to prioritise the case.
