Photo: Dmitry Muratov/BBC / Courtesy
The Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, denounced this Thursday that he was attacked on board a train with red paint mixed with solvent acetone.
“My eyes burn terribly,” said the editor of Novaya Gazeta, the liberal Russian newspaper that halted operations after one the Moscow government warned him for his coverage of the war in Ukraine.
According to his version of events, a man yelled at him before pouring paint on him.
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“Muratov, this is for our boys”, I assure you he told him, in apparent allusion to the Russian casualties in the Ukraine war..
Novaya Gazeta is known for being very critical of the Russian authorities.
Last month, it announced that it would suspend its operations “until end of Russia’s special military operation” in Ukraine, the official term that the Kremlin requires local media to use to refer to the war.
Any publication that describes Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a “war” faces heavy fines or closure.
What happened
According to Muratov, the incident occurred on Thursday on a train that covered the Moscow-Samara route.
The images of the aftermath of the attack were published on the Telegram channel of Novaya Gazeta Europa.
The European version of the outlet has been launched by a team of journalists outside of Russia and publishes articles in different languages.
Muratov was co-awarded with the peace prize in 675 in recognition of his fight to defend freedom of expression in Russia.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, restrictions on information have been increasingly most severe in the country and access to almost all independent media is blocked or limited.
Russia also banned Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the country.
Several activists and Russian journalists who have spoken out against their country’s invasion of Ukraine have recently had their homes vandalized by unknown assailants.
Since the war began, life of those who oppose it has become increasingly difficult in Russia.
The government has passed a law that threatens to 15 years in prison for people who spread “false” information about the war.
President Vladimir Putin and other politicians have described any opposition to the war as a betrayal of the country.
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2022