Police are searching for people who attacked a group of Radio Liberty journalists in the town of Kropotkin, Krasnodar Territory, on March 28, Kuban regional police spokeswoman Maria Pirogova told Interfax.
“Police are probing the journalists’ complaint of an attack. They also stated that as a result of the attack their equipment went missing but the police discovered it at their hotel room while conducting checks into their allegations,” Pirogova said.
The report of the incident was received by a local on-duty police officer on March 28 morning, she said. A team of police investigators is working at the scene.
Meanwhile, a source in Kuban law enforcement agencies told Interfax that a domestic conflict had taken place.
“Journalists had a row with locals at a café over a young woman,” the source said.
Earlier the assault was reported by Radio Liberty correspondent Sergey Khazov-Cassia on his Facebook page. The journalist said, in particular, that he and a cameraman had arrived in Kuban to film a report about a farmers’ protest. Outside the hotel in Kropotkin, the crew was set upon by some people who beat them up, stole their computer, camera and personal belongings, and fled. The car in which the attackers arrived remained parked outside the hotel, Khazov-Cassia said.
