In April 2022, unknown individuals doused Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov with red paint in a train compartment from Moscow to Samara. One of the attackers shouted: «Muratov, this is for our guys». Doctors diagnosed Muratov with a chemical eye burn.
«Novaya Gazeta» conducted an investigation, which named the individuals it considers involved in the attack on Dmitry Muratov. They turned out to be former military personnel Nikolai Trifonov and Ilya Markovets. Soon Trifonov was detained, but then he was released.
The police repeatedly refused to initiate a criminal case, stating that they could not establish a connection between the paint that doused Muratov and the harm to his health.
Dmitry Muratov and his lawyer Katerina Tertukhina appealed the refusal, arguing that the lack of information about the presence of crime signs cannot be a reason for refusing to initiate a criminal case. They indicated that in this case, the investigation is incomplete and does not meet the criteria for an effective investigation. Moreover, in his decision, the investigator presents medical data that he established himself, without having special knowledge in this area, as any «additionally presented documents» are not reflected in any of the decisions.
«The court decided that no one doused me with paint, and my eyes are damaged because I ate something wrong or rubbed them hard with an alcohol-containing wipe. That is the court's decision. With lawyer Katerina Tertukhina, we asked several questions: «Why on the first day did they find those who did it, but did not interrogate them?», «Why didn't they send the phone, which recorded the moment of the crime, for examination?» It turned out that they accidentally lost the pin code from it, — Muratov told Sotavision** after the court. — What bothers me about this whole situation? Not the court's decision, it was obvious. Everyone knows, the prosecutor knows that he is lying. The investigator, who instead of interrogating the attacker, bombarded Moscow hospitals with requests about whether my eyes really hurt. The head of the investigation is lying. They lie because someone ordered them to punish people who oppose the «SVO» in this way. It's not upsetting that such people broke their oath, but that they take it».
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Photo: Novaya Gazeta