GROZNY (Russia), (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, a group of assailants attacked a bus carrying nine activists and journalists on the border between Russia's Chechnya and Ingushetia regions. Four people were hospitalized, including a Norwegian and a Swedish reporter.
"Someone really needs a terrible picture of the situation in the North Caucasus and in Russia as a whole, in the form of the persecution of dissidents, a lack of freedom of speech, human rights violations and so on. This is especially relevant against the backdrop of the upcoming [legislative] elections," Nurdi Nukhazhiev, human rights commissioner for the Chechen Republic, said in a statement.
He stressed that this flagrant attack was planned to cause public outrage.
