© Oliver Carroll/The Independent
Police lead away suspect in stabbing of Tatyana Feldenhauer at the Echo of Moscow offices
A man armed with a knife attacked and injured a female journalist after forcing his way in the Echo of Moscow radio station in the Russian capital, its editor-in-chief reported. The woman was taken to hospital.

Tatiana Felgengauer was stabbed in the throat by the assailant, Aleksey Venediktov reported. The attacker was subdued by the station's security guards, he added. Felgengauer, 32, is the deputy editor-in-chief and host of one of the station's talk shows. She first appeared on-air in 2005 as an intern correspondent and has been working for Echo of Moscow ever since.

Venediktov later said Felgengauer's life is not in danger. Her injury required surgery, after which she was placed in an intensive care ward for recovery, he said.

Vitaly Ruvinsky, the editor-in-chief of the station's website, posted a photo of the alleged attacker on his Twitter feed. Another photo apparently shows the moment of the assailant's detention by the police.

Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that the attacker had acted out of a personal grudge against Felgengauer. The assailant may be a foreign national, they added, without elaborating on his identity.

Echo of Moscow tweeted that the attacker's name is Boris Grits. The station also posted a link to a blog, which it believes to belong to the attacker.
© Twitter
Tatyana Feldenhauer is deputy editor in chief of the leading liberal radio station Echo of Moscow
Writing alternatively in Russian and English, the author claims to be the victim of "telepathic sexual assault" by the Russian journalist. Felgengauer, the blog claims, "monitors me practically in real-time, knows everything I write or say." The blog appears to be written by a person living in Israel.

The post dated October 14 includes an open threat: "In a few weeks I am coming to Moscow, and if this does not stop, the consequences may be very unpleasant."

"One thing I know for sure: I am sick of Tatiana Felgengauer."

In video footage of the suspect's questioning, released by the Interior Ministry, Grits said that he has known the victim since 2012, but "only via a telepathic contact."

"She's been after me for the last two months. Every night she used this telepathic link to get in and torment me sexually," he said, explaining the motives behind his attack on Felgengauer.

Station staffer Olga Bychkova, who witnessed the attack, told RIA Novosti that the assailant first used a pepper spray to disable the guard manning the entrance to the station building.

He also slashed the hand of another security guard as he was being apprehended.

According to Venediktov, the attacker didn't say anything during the attack. Among his personal possessions seized by the police was a plan of the building in which the Echo of Moscow studios are located. The rooms were marked in English, he added.

A spokesman for the Russian General Prosecutor's office called the attack "outrageous" and said the office will closely monitor the police investigation into it.

"That was an outrageous incident," Aleksandr Kurennoy wrote on the office's Telegram channel. "My words of support to staff at the radio station."

Echo of Moscow is a popular Russian news and political talk radio station. It prides itself for giving a platform to many opposition voices, as well as those of pro-government activists.



(sott.net)