Correspondent of the newspaper “Krymskie novosti” was brutally beaten by strangers

In the evening of 11 April in Simferopol two strangers brutally beat Aleksey Ermolin, a correspondent of the Crimean informational-analytical weekly “Krymskie novosti”. The editorial board of the weekly informs that the attackers delivered several blows on his head, but the journalist managed to run away. The journalist turned to the nearest hospital, from where he was transported by motor ambulance to the Republican clinical hospital. The doctors find the wound on the left eyebrow, rendered him the urgent aid and put in the stitches.

Commentaries:

“The blows were rather strong, it seemed that one of the attackers had brass-knuckles”, A. Ermolin believes. Both the journalist and the collective of “Krymskie novosti” believe that this attack could be provoked by his professional activities. A. Ermolin deals with a number of acute topics, such as the misuses connected with the lands of the South Crimean Coast, in particular, the conflict between the dwellers of the settlement Gurzuf and the company “Artek”, and the problems of the markets in the capital of the republic. “I got no threats by phone”, Ermolin said, “I got only the warning and the proposition to think. Yet, this phrase may be assessed in different ways”. The journalist did not say from whom he got the warning.

The officers of the main militia directorate of the Crimea do not connect the beating of Ermolin with his professional activities. Aleksandr Dombrovskiy, the head of the center of public relations of the Crimean militia directorate, believes that “this was a mere hooliganism”. According to his words, Ermolin did not turn to militia with the official complaint about the attack. The law-enforcing organs are conducting the investigation after the information obtained from the hospital, where the journalist turned. As A. Dombrovskiy pointed out, Ermolin got no serious injuries and there is no danger for his health. Now the journalist went to a business trip to Odessa. The departure of the journalist from the Crimea “impeded the investigation actions”, told the head of the PR-center.

The Black Sea TV and radio company