On the night of 2 April 2008 journalist Grigory Belonuchkin was beaten up in the porch of his apartment building, and later taken to hospital with concussion. He had answered the door to a stranger who claimed to have material for publication with which only he could help.

Belonuchkin had previously received threatening phonecalls regarding his work investigating the results of the December 2007 parliamentary elections. He is currently challenging in court the results at a polling station in his home town of Dolgoprudny. As an election observer for the communist party, he photographed duplicate results protocols in polling stations 306 and 318, showing inflated results for the ‘United Russia’ party, which supports President Putin.

According to Belonuchkin, he went twice to the police after being threatened, but was told that nothing could be done, since no consequences of the threats had yet been seen. He was later telephoned and told that no case could be opened. Shortly after, from the same number, he received a call advising him: ‘do not touch the elections, or we will knock your head off’.

According to Belonuchkin, the leaders of the local communist party received similar calls.

ARTICLE 19 expresses deep concern at this attack which appears to be connected to Grigory Belonuchkin’s professional activity, and urges the authorities to carry out a full and thorough investigation into this and all other attacks on journalists.