10:25, 6 May 2020

Prosecutor's Office finds that article on coronavirus in Chechnya can trigger panic

Elena Milashina. Photo by Anna Artemyeva / Novaya Gazeta

The authorities of the Russian Federation have put forward claims against the article by Elena Milashina published in the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper on the situation with the coronavirus in Chechnya, stating that the information therein about the closure of hospitals was false. Elena has received an award in Berlin for reporting on the situation with coronavirus in Chechnya and intends to prove her rightness.

Elena Milashina wrote that doctors in Chechnya face a deficit of protective means, authorities are engaged in mass detentions of people for violating the self-isolation regime, and residents with coronavirus symptoms are afraid to turn to doctors for fear of repressions.

On May 3, the "Deutsche Welle" Media Company decorated Elena Milashina with the Freedom of Speech Award. She got on the list, as she became the object of attention of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, after her critical reports on how Chechnya was managing coronavirus.

Milashina's article angered Kadyrov, who accused the "Novaya Gazeta" of "anti-Chechen harassment," and expressed threats against the author of the material and her colleagues.

Let us remind you that Russian and international human rights organizations asked the PACE Special Rapporteur on Northern Caucasus to fix Kadyrov's threats against Milashina, while the European Union has called on the Russian authorities to condemn the threats against the journalist and ensure her safety. Milashina herself demanded to institute a criminal case on the murder threat and an attempt to interfere with her professional activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 5, 2020 at 09:18 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.