Russia
Newspaper offices firebombed following reports on local government corruptionPosted Feb 7 2012
The editorial offices of the Russian liberal opposition paper Vecherny Krasnokamsk were firebombed in the early morning of Jan. 28, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Security cameras at the scene filmed an unknown man smashing through a window at the paper’s offices in the Perm region of the Urals, The Moscow Times reported. The man threw a Molotov cocktail through the window into the newsroom, and the ensuing blaze destroyed equipment, files and financial records.
The paper’s editor and local Yabloko opposition party leader, Ogla Kolokolova, said she thought the attack was linked to recently reported investigations of embezzlement that pinpointed Yury Chechetkin, mayor of Krasnokamsk.
Radio Free Europe reported that Chechetkin denied embezzlement charges, and Reporters Without Borders reported that he said he had no wish to stop the paper’s reporting.
No one was injured as a result of the attack. Kolokolova estimated there was 300,000 rubles ($9,800) of damage, according to Business Insider.
Police say an investigation is ongoing. Business Insider cited Rossiyskaya Gazeta which said the attack may warrant five years imprisonment for the man responsible.