(CJES/IFEX) – On the morning of 28 June 2005, Nikolay Kochurov, editor-in-chief of the “Severniy rabochiy” newspaper, was severely beaten in the entrance of his apartment block in Severodvinsk, Archangelsk region. Kochurov is conscious but remains in grave condition at Emergency Therapy Hospital No. 2’s neurosurgery ward. He sustained multiple fractures and a serious brain […]
(CJES/IFEX) – On the morning of 28 June 2005, Nikolay Kochurov, editor-in-chief of the “Severniy rabochiy” newspaper, was severely beaten in the entrance of his apartment block in Severodvinsk, Archangelsk region. Kochurov is conscious but remains in grave condition at Emergency Therapy Hospital No. 2’s neurosurgery ward. He sustained multiple fractures and a serious brain injury.
“Severniy Rabochiy” deputy editor Raisa Evglevskaya told CJES that the assault was in retaliation for Kochurov’s professional activities, specifically his critical political articles. Nothing was taken from the victim.
Evglevskaya told CJES that the newspaper’s recent articles on court trials had left certain parties very unhappy. In one 18 June piece on the trials, entitled, “Give me a million”, the paper cited both Severodvinsk city prosecutor Podgorniy and Severodvinsk militia criminal investigation department chief Kartukhov.
“Severniy rabochiy”, under the editorial direction of Kochurov for several years now, is very popular due to its direct style and its critical and impartial reporting.
Editorial office employees said that Kochurov had been receiving phone threats.
Severodvinsk’s mayor has now taken the investigation under his control. Evglevskaya, however, remains pessimistic about the outcome of an investigation headed by the very subjects of “Severniy rabochiy”‘s critical reporting.
