Nobel Prize-winning editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, an Independent Russian newspaper, was attacked with red paint and acetone by an unknown person a day ago. The incident took place in a compartment of the Moscow-Samara train.
According to media reports, the two unknown people shouted “Muratov, here’s to you for our boys,” before they attacked Dimitri Muratov’s train compartment. The incident transpired at the Kazansky railway station in Moscow.
Muratov later said that paint had severely irritated his eyes. “They poured oil paint with acetone in the compartment. Eyes burn terribly. Train Moscow-Samara. Oily smell all over the car. Departure has already been delayed by 30 minutes. I’ll try to wash off. He shouted ‘Muratov, here’s to you for our boys.”
Local police is looking for the two men and an investigation is underway
Kirill Martynov, editor of Novaya Gazeta in Europe, tweeted that Muratov’s eyesight may be affected by the paint. The editor-in-chief however did receive medical attention. “Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was just attacked on a train in Russia by a man who threw paint at him, possibly damaging his eyesight,” Martynov wrote.
In 2021, Muratov had won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which he had co-founded in 1991. The publication is known for its advocacy for democracy and freedom of expression in Russia. In fact, siex of the Gazeta’s journalists have been killed for holding the Russian government to account, reported NPR.
