Alexander Chernega, editor and publisher of the newspaper "Paramushir-Vesti", was ruthlessly beaten after some of his critical stories about the local governor were published.
(GDF/IFEX) – Alexander Chernega, editor and publisher of the local newspaper “Paramushir-Vesti”, was ruthlessly beaten near his house in Severo-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Region, late on February 3, 2011. Two unidentified men, armed with karate sticks and a length of metal tubing, attacked him from behind and proceeded to beat him, targeting his head, face and legs.
Overcoming pain, the journalist staggered home to call the police and an ambulance. He then received 10 stitches on his head and had his broken arm put in a plaster cast. Doctors say he will have to stay in hospital for at least two weeks. The police have begun criminal proceedings into the incident.
Chernega is a local celebrity reputed to have independent views. He has been a city assembly deputy for five years, and the editor and publisher of “Paramushir-Vesti” for seven years. He has also contributed reports to the newspaper “Sovetsky Sakhalin”, criticising the Severo-Kurilsk mayor and regional authorities for inefficient expenditure of budgetary funds.
The latest edition of “Paramushir-Vesti” featured sharply critical stories. Specifically, Chernega pointed to the growth of administrative apparatus maintenance costs despite Governor Alexander Khoroshavin’s repeated pledges to reduce them, which resulted in no money being left in 2010 to finance the repairs of the road to the city port or the renovation of the water supply network. The deputy’s critical position has more than once turned out badly for him. He was relieved of his duties as assembly deputy chairman for what was qualified “a breach of ethical norms” following his March 26, 2010 publication “Tired of Waiting at the Ends of the Earth”. A week later, he was expelled from the United Russia party for the same “offence”. Four years earlier, some malefactors torched his car.
