Russian human rights activists were pelted with eggs on Thursday as they held a news conference in Moscow to condemn the burning of the homes of relatives of suspected Islamist insurgents in Chechnya.
Two burly young men threw eggs at Alexander Cherkasov of the Memorial human rights group and Igor Kalyapin of the Joint Mobile Group watchdog that monitors abuses in Chechnya. The pair shouted slogans in support of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who last week said families of Islamist militants should be banished and have their homes destroyed, prompting the torching of several houses.
The egg-throwing assailants shouted, "Ramzan dragged this country out of the abyss," and "How else can we fight them?" before leaving the building. The organizers called police who only arrived over an hour later.
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