Newspaper reporter Anatoly Adamchuk was beaten unconscious on Monday, making him the second journalist to be brutally attacked in Russia within 48 hours.
Adamchuk, of Zhukovskie Vesti, was beaten by two unidentified men, while leaving his office in the early morning. He was treated for head trauma at the hospital.Russia’s Interior Ministry has meanwhile alleged that Adamchuk staged his own attack, and police in Moscow have reportedly said that the journalist may be charged with filing a false police complaint.
The attack came just two days after investigative journalist Oleg Kashin, of Kommersant newspaper, was savagely beaten by two unknown assailants outside his Moscow apartment.
Moscow-based news website Lifenews released a graphic video of the attack which left Kashin with a broken jaw, leg, fractured skull, and several crushed fingers. Doctors induced a coma, and Kashin remains reliant on an artificial breathing apparatus.
Both journalists had recently published reports regarding contentious government plans to construct highways through forests northwest of Moscow.
Kashin’s reporting on a highway project cutting through a forest in the Moscow suburb of Khimki prompted threats from the pro-Kremlin youth group Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guards), who in August called to “punish a traitor” on their official website after an interview Kashin conducted with an anti-Khimki project blogger.
Khimki journalist Mikhail Beketov, who also raised public awareness about the forest, was crippled in a beating in 2008. On Wednesday, a judge found him guilty of slandering the Khimki mayor, Vladimir Strelchenko, by accusing him of involvement in blowing up Mr. Beketov’s car. No one has been arrested for Mr. Beketov’s attack.
Colleagues of both reporters connect these brutal assaults to their critical work as journalists.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev condemned the attack on Kashin, and appointed the head of the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General to take the case under their special control. According to a transcript posted on the President’s website, Medvedev told reporters: “Whoever is responsible for this crime will be punished, regardless of their position.”
These two attacks are the latest in a series of several assaults in Russia, which continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. The attackers and killers of journalists operate with impunity.
IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “While we welcome President Medvedev’s insistence that the attackers will be found, we would like to stress that words alone are not enough. These latest two brutal attacks serve as a violent reminder of the dangers journalists in Russia face, and may well have been spurred by the climate of impunity. It is vital that the authorities move from verbally condemning attacks on journalists, to actually bringing the perpetrators to justice. We hope that President Medvedev’s words will not prove to be just another empty pledge.”
UPDATE: Moscow region police detained two teenagers who have admitted to helping Adamchuk stage his own attack. According to their statements, Adamchuk’s 19-year-old theatre student and his friend were paid 1,000 rubles ($32), to hit him.
A police spokesman said the reporter could face up to six years in prison if charged with filing a false statement.
Adamchuk denies the police claims as “vile statements.”
On account of the several recent attacks on media in Russia, IPI reiterates its position on the seriousness of violence against journalists, and calls for a transparent investigation into this matter.
