RFE/RL Journalist Describes Attack On Him In Russia

Several assailants attacked RFE/RL Russian Service reporter Sergei Khazov-Cassia and cameraman Andrei Kostyanov on the morning of March 28 in Kropotkin, a town in the Krasnodar Krai. The attackers, who wielded cans of pepper spray, seized a laptop computer, TV equipment, and personal belongings and fled on foot, leaving the minivan they arrived in behind. The journalists were in the area to cover a planned protest by farmers. Khazov-Cassia said that the attack came hours after police visited their hotel room to check whether they were there. (RFE/RL Russian Service via Skype)