Attack on and severe injury of Lev Shlosberg is political revenge
Statement by the YABLOKO party, 30.08.2014
Lev Shlosberg, Chair of the Pskov branch of YABLOKO, was attacked and severely injured last night. He is in hospital in the state of moderately grave condition. Fortunately, there is no threat to his life already.
The attack took place by Lev Shlosberg’s house. The attackers escaped.
Several days ago Lev Shlosberg, the founder of the Pskovsaya Gubernia (Province of Pskov) newspaper, published an investigation into the deaths of Pskov paratroopers (who had been sent to Eastern Ukraine) and the publication became known all over the world.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the investigation influenced the world politics as in respond to it the Prime Minister of the so called Donetsk People’s Republic confessed that Russia’s military professionals who were on vacations were fighting on his side.
We have two versions of the reasons behind this crime.
Most likely the people who first ‘implementing their duty’ unlawfully recruited soldiers and then had to conceal the deaths of the Pskov paratroopers in the territory of Ukraine tried to silence Shlosberg.
The other version refers to the coming gubernatorial elections in the region. The pressure of the present authorities on the municipal deputies [who had to put their signatures in favour of nomination] did not allow Lev Shlosberg to get registered as candidate for the post of Governor of the Pskov region. Shlosberg has made many enemies by revealing the fact that municipal deputies who had dared to put their signatures in favour of his nomination had been threatened and intimidated.
The crime against Shlosberg is the direct consequence of the state propaganda mobbing people with a different point of view and labelling them enemies and “the fifth column”.
It is extremely important to find those who implemented and those who ordered this crime. We expect that Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee, will take investigation of this crime under his personal control.
Sergei Mitrokhin,
YABLOKO Chairman
Posted: August 30th, 2014 under Attack on Lev Shlosberg, Foreign policy, Freedom of Speech, Gubernatorial Elections, Human Rights, Russia-Ukraine relations.