Topline
Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent Russian Novaya Gazeta newspaper who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his critical and investigative coverage of the Russian government, was attacked on a train from Moscow on Thursday, he said.
Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov talks to media in Moscow after winning the Nobel Peace … [+]
Key Facts
An unknown assailant threw red paint with acetone at Muratov in his train car, causing Muratov’s eyes to burn, according to Twitter and Telegram posts from Novaya Gazeta Europe, a European offshoot of Muratov’s publication launched by Novaya Gazeta journalists Thursday after the Russian newspaper suspended operations last month due to increasing threats from the Russian government.
Images shared by Novaya Gazeta Europe show Muratov and what appears to be his train car covered in red paint.
The attacker said, “Muratov, here’s one for our boys,” Muratov said in his statement released by Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The official Twitter account of Novaya Gazeta retweeted the images of Muratov, the newspaper’s first post since it went offline March 28.
Muratov received medical care following the attack and his eyesight may be damaged, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe editor-in-chief and former Novaya Gazeta political editor Kirill Martynov.
Key Background
Muratov won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize along with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa for fighting for the freedom of the press “under increasingly challenging conditions.” Muratov announced March 22 he will auction his Nobel medal to raise money for Ukrainian refugees, six days before Novaya Gazeta paused all operations following its second official warning from the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor. Censorship in Russia has grown stronger, with a law passed in March that allows for 15-year jail sentences for publishing what the government deems false information about the war, causing nearly every independent news outlet to cease operations in the country.
Surprising Fact
Muratov’s attack isn’t the first against a prominent independent Russian journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine: A severed pig’s head along with a sticker saying “Jewish pig” was left at the door of the apartment of Aleksei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of independent Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy, last week, according to a Telegram post from the Jewish journalist.
Further Reading
Famed Russian Paper Suspends Operations Amid Censorship Laws As Kremlin Restricts War Reporting (Forbes)
2021 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To Journalists Maria Ressa And Dmitry Muratov (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/04/07/nobel-prize-winning-russian-journalist-dmitry-muratov-attacked-on-train-in-russia/