21:18, 21 February 2025

Investigation into attack on journalist Milashina and lawyer Nemov in Chechnya suspended

Alexander Nemov and Elena Milashina after being attacked. Photo: “Team Against Torture” / Telegram

In Chechnya, investigators have not been able to identify the people who attacked journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in December 2023, Alexander Nemov refused to travel to Chechnya to testify in his case, considering such trip unsafe. That same month, Alexander Nemov requested Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), to transfer the case on the attack to another region. In his motion, the lawyer has explained that the attackers had threatened to kill him if he returned to Chechnya, but investigators in the republic were not seeking to find the perpetrators.

In July 2023, Elena Milashina, a journalist of the “Novaya Gazeta” newspaper, and lawyer Alexander Nemov were brutally beaten in Chechnya when they arrived to the republic to attend the trial in the Zarema Musaeva’s case.

The investigation into the attack has been suspended, Alexander Nemov reported on his page in the “VKontakte” social networking service. “The criminal case in which I am a victim in the attack in Grozny has been suspended because of the investigators’ failure to identify the person to be brought to responsibility. It seems clear to me that the investigators were actually looking for anyone,” Alexander Nemov wrote.

Let us remind you that Elena Milashina believes the attack on her and Alexander Nemov is related to the case of missing Chechen police inspector Yasin Khalidov. The attackers were interested in the information that Yasin Khalidov managed to pass on to human rights defenders before his detention, the journalist noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 21, 2025 at 11:28 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot