Police fail to find attackers on moloko+ journalists

The police have decided to suspend the inquiry into the attack on Pavel Nikulin and Sofiko Arifdjanova, the journalists of the moloko+ edition, because they failed to find the attackers, said the advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 15, 2018, at a public transport stop in Krasnodar, unidentified persons sprayed some gas into the faces of the above journalists. The journalists had planned to hold a presentation of their almanac on that day; the almanac is on the history of revolutionary movement and terrorism.

The police have sent a statement to the prosecutor's office on the suspension of the investigation into the criminal case on the attack on Nikulin and Arifdjanova, because they failed to find the attacker, the "Mediazona" reported on October 10 with reference to Alexei Avanesyan, the journalists' advocate. According to his story, he will appeal against the police inaction.

Let us note here that after the attack on Pavel Nikulin and Sofiko Arifdjanova, the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) demanded from the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory to stop persecuting journalists, to return the confiscated moloko+ almanac, and to find and punish the attackers.

"The topics covered by moloko+ may be disliked by many, but harassment and physical violence against the independent journalism are unacceptable," Mari Strazers, the AI director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, wrote on the AI's website.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 11, 2018 at 08:21 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.