Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin instructed the head of the Investigative Committee of the ICR for Chechnya, Vitaly Volkov, to conduct an inspection and submit a report on the attack on Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov, the department said .
Earlier, Deputy Alexander Khinshtein promised that the State Duma Committee on Information Policy would send an appeal to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office demanding that they take the investigation under special control. Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia , sent appeals to the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya.
Meanwhile, Milashina and Nemov, who had been beaten in Chechnya, were taken by ambulance to Beslan in North Ossetia. According to Novaya Gazeta, they will receive the necessary assistance there and undergo a medical examination.
The Anti-Torture Team told the BBC that a special flight from Moscow and a team of doctors would arrive tonight to pick up the victims. Milashina and Nemov are planned to be taken to the capital and hospitalized in the Botkin hospital.
“The situation is very bad. The lawyer and the journalist were in a rather serious condition. Journalist Milashina is in a more serious condition, according to doctors,” said Tamerlan Tsogoev, Commissioner for Human Rights in North Ossetia. According to him, the victims testify to the police. Earlier it was reported that Milashina and Nemov refused to talk to representatives of the Chechen police.
Baza reports that in the Beslan hospital, Milashina fell unconscious.
The Telegram channel “Caution, news” published a video from a hospital in Grozny, in which Milashina, lying on a couch, talks about the attack to the Chechen Ombudsman Mansur Soltaev.
“Classic kidnapping, as it all used to be. It just hasn't happened in a long time. They pressed, threw the driver, the taxi driver, out of his car, climbed into us, bent their heads, tied my hands, put them on my knees, a gun to my head.
The head of the Team Against Torture, Sergei Babinets, told Bereg that he received a message about the attack on Milashina and Nemov at about 5 am, after which he went to the ambulance station where they were.
“Alexander Nemov met me there, sitting in a wheelchair. He was beaten very badly, he had an extensive hematoma on his head, his whole face was covered in bruises, his hands too, and on his right shin there was a large bandage soaked with blood.
He told me about the attack. According to him, they arrived early in the morning in Grozny, took a taxi and drove to the city. On the way they were blocked by three cars, people in black balaclavas and clothes jumped out. They threw the taxi driver out of the car, got behind the wheel themselves and drove them not very far, to the side of the road. Pulled out there. Gutted the bags. Elena and Alexander were severely beaten – they beat, as I understand it, with their hands and feet, including with polypropylene pipes. They demanded to unlock gadgets and laptops. Elena and Alexander refused. Elena Milashina broke her fingers for this. <…>
She <Milashina> was lying in the corridor on a gurney. She was in a swoon, breathing heavily, her whole face was covered with greenery, her hair was roughly cut, her clothes were dirty, and she herself was covered in bruises. Doctors provided first aid, gave painkillers.”
Babinets said that the victims were moved to Beslan at the request of Novaya Gazeta, because there is located "the nearest large professional hospital to Grozny", and also because it was not safe for Milashina and Nemov to stay in Chechnya. Babinets is sure that the attack is connected with the professional activities of the victims.
Lawyer of the “Team Against Torture” Alexander Savin met in the pre-trial detention center with Zarema Musaeva, who was defended by Nemov. She gave a letter to Nemov and Milashina.
“Sasha, get well soon, please. Good luck, success, health I wish you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all so much for everything, all the best to everyone. Honey, get well soon. Hold on dear."
Milashina and Nemov flew to Chechnya to announce the verdict for Zarema Musayeva, the mother of Chechen human rights activists, who was kidnapped by Chechen security forces in January 2022 in Nizhny Novgorod. The woman was taken to Chechnya and accused of assaulting police officers and fraud. On July 4, the court sentenced her to 5.5 years in prison.
