Somebody cut the brakes in an independent journalist's car in Volgograd

Police in Volgograd have opened a criminal investigation after someone apparently cut the brakes in a car owned by Yulia Zavyalova, the chief editor of the local news outlet Bloknot. The incident itself took place in late November. 

Law enforcement are treating the crime as a case of light property damage, however, not as an attempted murder. Investigators found that the culprit tore out a valve in Zavyalova’s anti-locking braking system and punctured her brake line hose in four places. Zavyalova says she believes the perpetrator was trying to kill her in retaliation for her work as a journalist.

Bloknot is one of Volgograd’s leading local news outlets and regularly publishes materials that criticize local Governor Andrey Bocharov.