The Russian activist Lev Ponomaryov, 67, a longtime human rights activist, leader of the organisation ‘For Human Rights’ and also leader of the Solidarity opposition political movement, has been released from hospital following an attack by unknown assailants outside his Moscow home yesterday. Ponomaryov suffered bruises and contusions to his face and upper body as a result of the incident.

As he arrived home late last night, Ponomaryov was approached by a stranger.”I drove up and parked in the courtyard,” he explained. “When I opened the door, a man came up to me and asked for a cigarette. I turned towards him and said, ‘Pardon me, but I don’t smoke.’ At that moment, someone hit me from behind. I fell down and they began savagely kicking me.” Ponomaryov said the attack continued for some time and that robbery did not seem to be a motive.”They beat me for, I don’t know, five or 10 minutes, maybe 15. It’s hard to say,” he says. “I began shouting, loudly. A guard came out from a nearby entrance, and they ran away. That’s the whole story.”

The attack came shortly after Ponomaryov met with Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a reporter for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Committee. She has issued a statement calling on the Russian authorities to investigate the crime thoroughly.

Ponomaryov confirmed that the police are investigating the incident. “The police are working diligently. An enormous number of police arrived on the scene, so it is under control,” Ponomaryov added. “I have been in contact with my lawyer and he is getting involved, too, and will be following up to make sure the matter is investigated professionally.” The activist declined to discuss possible motives for the assault, saying only that he is involved in many difficult investigations involving state agencies.

The co-director of For Human Rights, Yevgeny Ikhlov, told gazeta.ru that Ponomaryov had complained to police in recent months that he was being followed, but police had refused to investigate.

Both national and international human rights communities expressed disturbance and insist that the crime be investigated in the most thorough manner.

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