On 26 September, Grigory Pasko, Director of the international NGO Community of Investigative Journalists, was beaten in the Siberian city of Barnaul by two unknown assailants who were shouting "get out of our city!". The investigative journalist managed to escape with concussion and a bruise to half of his face, reports said.

Pasko had arrived in Barnaul to train local journalists on investigative-reporting techniques. When he arrived at his hotel, he noticed he was being followed by an unknown man. He became more suspicious when the police arrived before the start of the training session in order to check the passports of the assistants. The assault took place after the training session and Pasko alerted the hotel staff that his attackers had “promised to return”.

The IFJ and EFJ joined the submission of an alert on the incident to the Council of Europe´s Online platform for the promotion of journalism and the protection of journalists' safety.

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