‘The latest cruel act of intimidation’

Human rights lawyer Sergey Babinets on the attack on journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov

On the morning of July 4, Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov were attacked by masked assailants in Chechnya. Both Milashina and Nemov were beaten with batons and kicked, including in the face. Milashina and Nemov had flown to Grozny for the sentencing of Zarema Musaeva, the mother of Abubakar Yangulbayev, a former lawyer for the Crew Against Torture, and Ibrahim Yangulbayev, one of the alleged founders of the Chechen opposition “Adat” movement. Journalists from Bereg spoke with Sergey Babinets, the chair of the Crew Against Torture, who was one of the first to meet with Milashina and Nemov after the attack. With their permission, Meduza is publishing the text in full.

How did you find out about the attack on Alexander Nemov and Elena Milashina? As far as I understand, you were one of the first to visit them in the hospital.

Alexander Karavaev, one of Musaeva’s lawyers, called me at around 5:00 a.m. and told me that Alexander Nemov and Elena Milashina had been attacked near the Grozny airport, and that they had been beaten. I went to the first aid clinic.

Nemov, sitting in a wheelchair, met me there. He was very badly beaten. He had a large hematoma on his head, cuts all over his face and hands, and a large bandage covered in blood on his right leg.

He told me about the attack. He said that they had arrived in Grozny early in the morning and took a taxi to the city. On the way to the city, three vehicles stopped them. People dressed in black clothing and balaclavas jumped out. They kicked the taxi driver out of the car, got behind the wheel, and didn’t drive too far, to the side of the road. They took them out and emptied out their bags.

Elena and Alexander were severely beaten. As far as I understand, they were punched, kicked, and beaten using polypropylene pipes. They demanded that [Elena and Alexander] unlock their devices. Elena and Alexander refused. That’s when they [tried to] break Elena’s fingers.

Do you know how they were able to call an ambulance if their phones were taken away from them?

I don’t know, to be honest. I assume that either someone stopped and helped them, since this happened on the side of the road, or they flagged down someone, or the taxi driver that was thrown out of the car drove them. I don’t know. I didn’t ask them.

After I spoke with Alexander, I saw Elena. She was laying on a stretcher, unconscious, she had trouble breathing, her whole face was covered in brilliant green dye, and her head was shaved. Her clothing was dirty and she was covered in bruises.

The doctors provided first aid and painkillers. They started to feel a bit better and began telling me what had happened. Elena sat up on the stretcher. Later in the day, she was even able to slowly stand up and walk around.

Around 11:00 a.m., Chechen ombudsman Mansur Soltaev arrived. He expressed his anger about what had happened. He said that law enforcement agencies have already [started working] and will search for the attackers. They will look at the tapes from the place where Alexander and Elena were beaten, since there are many traffic cameras there.

With our help, Novaya Gazeta organized an ambulance to take Elena and Alexander to Beslan [in North Ossetia]. Many people reached out to them. Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, called Elena. Moskalkova also called Mansur Soltaev, and they spoke in front of us. Soltaev personally escorted the ambulance to Beslan. He vouched that the safety of Elena and Alexander was almost in his hands, and that he would ensure their safety.

Why did they decide to go to Beslan?

Honestly, I don’t know. Novaya Gazeta made the decision. I think it would have been dangerous for them to stay in Chechnya. There’s a good hospital in Beslan, where victims of terrorist attacks are treated. There are very good specialists there. And it’s the closest large professional hospital to Grozny.

Plus, Beslan is located in the Republic of North Ossetia. Right now, it’s the safest place out of the regions close to Grozny.

How are Alexander and Elena feeling now?

When I put them into the ambulance, they were able to sit down by themselves, but you could see that it was hard for them. They were very badly beaten. I haven’t seen people beaten this severely in a long time, including during my work for the Crew Against Torture.

As far as I know, they’ve already arrived in Beslan and doctors have started to treat them. I’m going to meet them now.

Update: At around 11:30 p.m. local time on July 4, Novaya Gazeta reported that Milashina and Nemov were returning to Moscow on a special evacuation flight. They were accompanied by Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov and former Ekho Moskvy editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov.

What do you think this attack is in connection with? Is it related at all to the Zarema Musaeva case?

I think this isn’t just because of the Zarema Musaeva case. I think the Zarema Musaeva case is part of it.

Overall, it’s because of Elena’s articles in Novaya Gazeta which are completely truthful and not complementary to the Chechen leadership. [This included] the truth about the human rights situation. That’s why I think it’s connected to the work of journalists and human rights activists.

This is the latest cruel act of intimidation. [It sends a message that] there’s no need for human rights activists here and human rights aren’t welcome here.

This is far from the first attack on human rights activists and journalists, including Elena Milashina.

Yes, [the Crew Against Torture] has also been attacked. Our offices were burned down and we’ve been beaten.

As long as the same people remain in power, what kind of changes could there be? It’s also unclear who arranged this. But the people who attacked Elena and Alexander today are most likely the same as those who arranged all the previous attacks. Or they have the same bosses. That’s why I think they’ve been pursuing the same goals for a long time. They don’t want to hear the truth that “the emperor has no clothes.” That’s all there is to it.

I want to ask you a separate question about Zarema Musaeva. The Crew Against Torture has been involved in this case since the beginning. As far as I understand, she had many lawyers. Did they run into problems with the case?

The Zarema Musaeva case began with the use of violence against her lawyer. My colleague Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, lawyer Natalya Dobronravova, and I were there when the police arrived in Nizhny Novgorod [from Chechnya] in order to take Musaeva [and her husband, former judge] Saidi Yangulbaev, from their apartment. As Dobronravova has said, the police hit her in the eye. Police violence runs a thin red line through this whole thing. And it has ended with violence.

There were indeed many lawyers [in the Musaeva case]. Now, Alexander Nemov and Alexander Savin are the only ones still involved in the proceedings. Each time that lawyers arrived in Grozny, they complained that they were under open surveillance. They were followed by people in plainclothes and followed by cars. The surveillance was constant. And it was clear that this case was receiving a lot of attention from the local authorities.

But I don’t know why they decided to add this “cherry on top” in order to once again attract attention to the problems in the republic. To be honest, it looks very foolish and strange. A good case should have ended with a verdict. And frankly, there wouldn’t have been such public outcry if there had only been the news that Zarema had been sentenced.

Musaeva was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony. What do you think will happen to her next? I know that she has health issues.

Zarema herself remains in good spirits. She smiled today when she saw me. We haven’t seen each other since the moment she was detained. She was very happy.

It’s impossible to serve time in a prison colony with her illness [type 2 diabetes with complications]. They have to release her. We plan to appeal the verdict, since we consider her to be completely innocent. Lawyers are meeting with her right now and determining her position in the case. I hope that the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal and cassation will study the case and will make a lawful ruling.

Do you think it’s still possible?

You know, hope dies last. I don’t want to lose the last bit of hope, otherwise it’ll be very sad.

What do you think about the prospects for journalists and human rights activists to work in Chechnya? It seems that it’s getting scarier and fewer people will decide to do it.

Yes, it’s becoming scarier. Yes, it’s dangerous. Yes, it’s hard to work there. And it’s not completely clear how to do so. But we’ll continue our work, because there are people there that need help.

Interview by Nadezhda Belyaeva