New York, April 7, 2022 – Russian authorities should investigate the recent attack on journalist Dmitry Muratov and ensure that he can work without fear of harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
“Russian authorities should conduct a swift and transparent investigation into today’s attack on Dmitry Muratov and bring charges against those responsible to show that authorities do not condone attacks on journalists,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said. “Muratov leads one of Russia’s last independent newspapers; his safety must be ensured, and his work cherished and valued.”
On Thursday, April 7, during a train ride from Moscow to the city of Samara, an unidentified man shouted “Muratov, here’s one for our boys” and threw red paint on Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, according to a post on Telegram by Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Kirill Martynov, chief editor of Novaya Gazeta Europe, wrote on Twitter that Muratov received medical aid and that his eyesight may have been affected by the paint. Martynov described the attacker as a “pro-war man.”
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Last month, Novaya Gazeta suspended its operations because it was not able to report freely on the war in Ukraine. On Thursday, Martynov announced that the journalists who fled Russia had founded a new newspaper, Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Muratov won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his journalism work, and was also granted CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 2007.
Committee to Protect Journalists