Opposition YouTuber beaten in Khabarovsk after live-streaming rally for ousted governor
Reporter Dmitry Nizovtsev, the host of the YouTube channel “Navalny’s headquarters in Khabarovsk,” was beaten after covering a march in support of jailed former governor Sergey Furgal on July 23. Nizovtsev wrote about the attack on Twitter, after which it was reported by Mediazona.
“Three [people] attacked me. Near the entrance. They punched and kicked me. All in all, I’m okay. I only tore up my knee when I tried to dodge them. My face hurts. Because they kicked it to hell.”
Navalny’s Khabarovsk headquarters maintains that the attack on their journalist was “revenge for reports from the rallies.”
Dmitry Nizovtsev describes the attack
Sustained demonstrations in support of Sergey Furgal, the Khabarovsk Territory’s jailed former governor, have been ongoing since July 11. Frugal was arrested on July 9, on suspicion of organizing multiple contract killings in 2004–2005. He was taken to Moscow and placed under arrest at the Lefortovo Pretrial Detention Center until August 6.
President Vladimir Putin officially dismissed Furgal from the post of territorial governor on July 21.