Russia: Elena Milashina verbally attacked by Chechen head for her Covid-19 coverage

RUSSIA, April 16, 2020 -- Russian journalist Elena Milashina has been verbally attacked by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, during a live broadcast on Instagram on April 13. He resorted to personal attacks and threatened Elena for her “provocative” reporting on the state of Covid-19 in Chechnya. The Coalition For Women In Journalism denounces Kadyrov’s attempt to disregard Elena’s reporting at a time when the work of journalists around the world is most needed.

Elena was verbally attacked after she wrote an article for Novaya Gazeta - the publication she works for. The article, titled ‘Death from a coronavirus is a lesser evil’ shed light on the strict anti-coronavirus measures taken by Chechen government to control Covid-19. She focused on the state of medical institutions in the country, which were not ready to receive and treat patients and had been allegedly closed. In her article, she also claimed that the authorities in Chechnya have not reduced the number of illegal detentions. She wrote that patients were afraid of reporting their symptoms, following the fear of being labelled “terrorists” by the Chechen government.

Instead of taking necessary measures to manage the diffusion of Covid-19, the Chechen head of state verbally attacked a journalist who was only doing her job. During the live broadcast, he quoted an article by her and said, “What kind of woman are you, what mother gave birth to you, what mother, father raised you?” It is unacceptable for a journalist to be attacked for exercising their right to freedom of speech.

When talking about the article, Kadyroc said that Elena had written “nonsense” and urged the audience not to believe the publication. He also called out the Federal Security Service and Russian authorities to silence their journalists. Kadyrov accused the publication of misusing freedom of speech “to label my people as hardened criminals, medieval heathens and stranglers of freedom with their myths.”

In a country where freedom of speech is a luxury, the verbal attack on Elena, that too by the head of the region, sets a dangerous precedent. Earlier this year, Elena was subjected to physical assault by an angry mob in a hotel in Grozny on February 6. She accompanied a human rights lawyer, Marina Dubrovina, in the Chechen capital  to follow the trail of a jailed blogger. After the incident, Elena continued to receive death threats online.

We are concerned about Elena’s safety and demand Russian authorities to take swift actions to ensure her protection. By writing about a health crisis that has jolted almost the entire world, Elena has not committed a crime. She has instead contributed her services as an essential worker during these challenging times. We urge the government in Russia to take notice of Kadyrov’s comments about Elena and ensure her safety at all cost.