Attack in Moscow region on anti-corruption activist

Another human rights activist, Albert Pchelintsev, head of the civic organization, “Against Corruption, Lies, and Dishonour”, was attacked in Khimki near Moscow on Friday evening. . .

He was shot in the mouth with a shock pistol.

His friend and one of the authors of the newspaper “Khimki Pravda”, Georgy Vartanov told the BBC Russian Service that Mr Pchelintsev had been hospitalized and was in a fairly serious condition.

The two assailants attacked him when he was getting off a train, saying that he “pokes his nose where he shouldn’t”.

The leader of the movement “Protect Khimki Forest” Yevgenia Chirikova said that Pchelintsev was involved with fighting corruption in the law enforcement agencies and among officials.

Georgy Vartanov says that the human rights activist has frequently received threats including during the last elections when he supported an opposition candidate for Mayor. 

Colleagues say that he has recently been preparing an analytical report on corruption in the system for allocating flats. However Yevgenia Chirikova believes there could be a number of reasons. She stresses that the fight against corruption in the Khimki region is closely linked with environmental issues.

As reported here, Mr Pchelintsev is not the first victim of brutal attacks in Khimki. The Editor of the newspaper “Khimki Pravda” Mikhail Beketov is still recovering after being nearly killed late last year.

From information at the BBC Russian Service