Dyed, head shaved, fingers broken... reporter taking on Putin’s crony
BEATEN, her fingers broken, head shaved and doused in green dye, this is a leading Russian investigative journalist left unrecognisable after a sickening attack by cronies of Vladimir Putin.
Elena Milashina, 45, was reporting from Chechnya, a republic of Russia governed by Kremlin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, who had previously described her as a terrorist.
Ms Milashina, 45, and lawyer Alexander Nemov were stopped by armed and masked men as they arrived in the regional capital Grozny ahead of a trial which has prompted claims of human rights abuses against the defendant.
They received death threats, had guns pointed at their heads and were brutally kicked, including in the face.
The journalist, who works for the banned independent Russian paper Novaya Gazeta, also sustained a head wound and passed out several times.
Mr Nemov, 35, was stabbed with a knife, according to Novaya Gazeta, but still intends to attend the trial, even though he was warned by his attackers to return to Russia.
Ms Milashina is due to be moved to another Russian region for further treatment.
Kadyrov – sanctioned in the West over alleged human rights abuses – is one of Putin’s strongest backers on the war with Ukraine. Rumours have swirled in recent days over his health amid claims he is suffering from acute kidney or liver problems.
Ms Milashina and Mr Nemov were due to attend the trial of Zarema Musaeva, the mother of two persecuted Chechen activists.
She was kidnapped in January 2022 from Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod and transported to a jail in Grozny, where she was charged with ‘ using violence against a police officer’ and faces more than five years in jail for what is seen as a politically motivated persecution.
Novaya Gazeta had its media licence withdrawn last year. Since 2000, six of its journalists and contributors have been killed.