"But now we will kill you"

The journalist of Novaya Gazeta Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov told how one and a half dozen people beat them in Grozny. Brief retelling

Elena Milashina:

We flew to Grozny, got into a taxi, drove away 500 meters. We drove the North base, three cars are breaking out of us, there are at least 10-15 people. They threw the taxi driver out of the car and us upside down. They tried to tie my hands behind me, Sasha, apparently, hit with a knife - he had blood. We drove a little and stalled. We were dragged into the ravine and began to beat. They very well understood their capabilities and restrictions, knew what they were doing. They hurried and harshly demanded passwords from technology. They beat Sasha hard, they told him directly: protect him at home, there is no need to protect here. They overtook me. They threatened to cut off their fingers, began to break them, but no, they did not break. There is a concussion, but there are no fractures. They left: they said to count up to a hundred, buried in the ground, Sasha and I lie, we think we rise - they ran away, beat very much and again said to count to a hundred. And all. They took nothing, they were only interested in the technique. This is due to our professional activity in Chechnya.

Alexander Nemov:

We drove away by a taxi from the airport about 200 meters, when the car was pressed by another car. Of the three cars, 10-12 people got in masks, they threw out a driver from a taxi, after which they drove 150 meters with us. They stopped, dragged us, threw us on the side of the road and began to beat with their feet and sticks across the face and all parts of the body. They hit me with a knife in the leg. They say that there was no need to come here, work at home, no one needs to protect anyone here. They said that they allegedly warned me when they arranged out the outdoor: it was a warning, but now we will kill you. They knelt down, put a gun to the head, to the back of the head. They demanded that I pray for mercy. Then they took all the equipment, a telephone, a laptop, they said - to count up to a hundred, continuing to beat.

This is an approximate retelling of the comments of Elena Milashina and Alexander Nemov, which they gave after the attack in Grozny on July 4.