In this photo published on the Telegram channel of Novaya Gazeta Europe, Nobel Peace Prize-winning newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov takes a selfie after he said that he was attacked on a Russian train by an perpetrator who threw red paint at him, causing severe burns to his eyes. Russia, Thursday, April 7, 2022. Muratov told Novaya Gazeta Europe, a project started by the newspaper’s staff after the newspaper was shut down last week under government pressure, that the attack on Thursday took place on a train headed to from Moscow to Samara. (Telegram channel of Novaya Gazeta Europe via AP) The Nobel Peace Prize-winning publisher of the Russian newspaper Dmitry Muratov said he was attacked on a Russian train on Thursday by a perpetrator who threw red paint at him, causing severe eye irritation. Muratov told Novaya Gazeta Europe, a project launched by the newspaper’s staff after the newspaper was shut down last week under government pressure, that the attack took place on a train heading from Moscow to Samara. “My eyes are burning terribly,” Muratov was quoted as saying by Novaya Gazeta Europe’s Telegram channel. He said the perpetrator shouted, “Muratov, here is one for our boys.” The post showed photos of Muratov and a train compartment dipped in red liquid. Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s leading independent newspaper, announced on March 28 that it had suspended operations for the duration of what is referred to in quotation marks as “the special operation” in Ukraine, a condition that Russian authorities insist the media should use. for the war in Ukraine. The newspaper was the last major independent media outlet to criticize the government of President Vladimir Putin, after others either shut down or blocked their websites since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The impetus for the closure was a second official warning from Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor, which has increasingly taken on the role of censor in recent years, Novaya Gazeta has long had a difficult relationship with the government. The longtime author Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 with Maria Resa, a journalist from the Philippines. Exactly why Novaya Gazeta was warned remains unclear. Roskomnadzor told the state-run Tass news agency that the newspaper had failed to identify an unnamed non-governmental organization as a “foreign agent” in its reporting, as required by Russian law. He did not specify the report. Novaya Gazeta removed much of its war coverage from its website after Russian lawmakers passed a law on March 4 that threatened with up to 15 years in prison for information deemed “fake” by Russian authorities. This may include any reference to Russian forces injuring civilians or suffering casualties on the battlefield.
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