What a cowardly attack…
The Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner and journalist Dmitri Muratow (60) says he was attacked with a liquid by an unknown person. The editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” was sprayed with a red liquid on the train from Moscow to Samara (in south-eastern Russia) on Thursday, the newspaper said on Telegram.
“They poured oil paint with acetone into the compartment. My eyes are burning terribly,” Muratov was quoted as saying in the statement. The unknown attacker shouted, “Muratov, this is for our boys.”
The message was accompanied by two photos that Muratov apparently took himself. One probably showed him in the mirror of the train toilet, his face, torso and arms covered in red paint. A second picture showed a train compartment that had been splashed with a large amount of red liquid.
Novaya Gazeta, the most important independent newspaper in Russia, suspended publication at the end of March for the duration of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The newspaper had been repeatedly warned by the media regulator Roskomnadzor for its reporting on the military action.
On Thursday, exiled journalists from the paper announced the launch of a new newspaper called Novaya Gazeta. Europe” in several languages. This is not an offshoot of Novaya Gazeta, but an independent initiative.
Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his services to freedom of expression.