A Russian newspaper editor from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don is in a serious condition after he was attacked on 29 April. Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, editor-in-chief of the “Corruption and Crime” newspaper, covering crime in Rostov-on-Don and the wider region, was taken to a clinic with a head injuries, and remains in a coma.
According to Sergei Sleptsov, a journalist from the same newspaper and a correspondent for Radio Liberty, Yaroshenko was attacked outside his home as he returned from work. The culprit struck the journalist on his temple and ran away. The editor was taken to hospital, where he underwent a several hours long operation.
Yaroshenko is kept under close observation in the hospital’s intensive care unit, and has yet to regain consciousness. Doctors believe he still has a chance of recovering, though, Sleptsov said. Sleptsov is also convinced that the attack is connected with Yaroshenko’s work, seeing it as a possible act of revenge for his newspaper articles.
“I have a suspicion regarding those who organized the attack, but I won’t make it public yet,” he said. “We worked on the Corruption newspaper together, and I once suffered a similar attack.” Sleptsov added that in his attack, which took place in 2007, it was revealed that regional law enforcement authorities were involved. Sleptsov considers it telling that local police have so far refused to file a report on Yaroshenko’s case.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Russian Federation remains on top of the list of countries where crimes against journalists go unpunished. the Russian Federation ranks in 9th place in the media watchdog group’s “Impunity Index,” behind countries like Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
