Journalist turns to police after being beaten in North Ossetia

The police have accepted an application about beating on June 19 in North Ossetia of Pyotr Pliev, a journalist of the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta". The journalist links the attack on him with his professional activities.

According to Valery Gizoev, a friend and fellow villager of the beaten up journalist, the attack on the 67-year-old Pyotr Pliev was committed in the evening on June 19.

"He was my guest in the evening on June 19. We talked for a while; then he went home. He walked for quite a little, when two Zhiguli cars drove up to him and stopped. Then, the journalist was struck from behind; he lost consciousness and recovered only at 4:00 a.m. on June 20. According to his story, he still feels pain," Valery Gizoev told the" Caucasian Knot "correspondent.

"We wrote an application to the police," he added.

The republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has confirmed the reception of the journalist's application. "The police are checking the fact," a source from the MIA told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Valery Gizoev is the head of the North-Ossetian public organization "Union of Holders of Military Orders of the USSR and the Russian Federation". He associates the attack on Pliev with his professional activities. "Strangely, it coincided with the Pliev's article in the 'Rossiyskaya Gazeta', in which he criticized some bureaucrats and businessmen. I have two versions of the incident: the attackers were either the figurants of the article, or their enemies, who wanted to cast a shadow on them," said Valery Gizoev.

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