Journalists beaten in Ingushetia accuse investigators of inaction

In the course of the investigation into the attack on journalists and human rights defenders on the Ingush-Chechen border, investigators fail to provide the information about the investigation progress. This was claimed by the victims. They intend to appeal to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) for clarification.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 9, as a result of the attack committed in Ingushetia not far from the border with Chechnya, a group of unidentified attackers beat eight human rights defenders and journalists, and a driver of a minivan of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) on their way to Grozny.

Yegor Skovoroda, a correspondent of the "Mediazona", one of the victims in the attack, has reported that during more than one month, he did not receive any information on the criminal case from the investigator. He has also announced his intention to appeal to the ICRF.

On May 5, Anton Prusakov, a journalist injured in the attack, is going to hold a meeting with Igor Kalyapin, the leader of the "Committee for the Prevention of Torture". At the meeting, they are to discuss the inaction of the investigators.

According to Alexandrina Elagina, a correspondent of "The New Times", also injured in the attack, two weeks ago, she received a notification from the investigators reporting that the criminal case had been instituted under Article 144 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Impeding the legitimate professional activities of journalists."

Alexandrina Elagina has noted that the criminal case is transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to the ICRF; however, despite that progress, "the question about the progress of the investigation is still open."

According to the Human Rights Council, earlier, the MIA has reported on the failure to identify the persons who had committed the crime.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.