Media freedom watchdogs say they are alarmed about the reported assault on a well-known Chechen blogger in an unidentified European country where he lives in hiding.An assailant broke into Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s apartment on February 26 while he was asleep and beat him with a hammer, according to the Sweden-based human rights group Vayfond.Abdurakhmanov, who eventually overpowered the attacker, was said to be hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.Both Vayfond and the blogger’s brother called the assault an assassination attempt — the latest attack in Europe on critics of the leadership in Russia’s North Caucasus region.Harlem Desir, representative on freedom of the media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, tweeted Thursday that he was “alarmed by the reported attempt to assassinate” Abdurakhmanov. He noted that the attack came after last month’s suspected murder of another Chechen blogger in France.Alarmed by the reported attempt to assassinate FILE – Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov speaks at a news conference in Chechnya’s provincial capital Grozny, Russia, April 12, 2014.Rights groups say Kremlin-backed Ramzan Kadyrov, who has ruled the volatile region since 2007, uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region. They claim Kadyrov is ultimately responsible for the violence and intimidation of political opponents by Chechen authorities, including kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.Chechen authorities have threatened, intimidated and arrested journalists for their work, according to the CPJ.In late January, the body of Imran Aliyev, another Chechen blogger known for his criticism of Kadyrov, was found in a hotel room in the northern French city of Lille with stab wounds, according to French media.The CPJ said it had yet to determine whether Aliyev’s death was tied to his reporting.
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