The police have initiated a criminal case under the article about battery after TochkaNews’ journalist and ex-deputy Anton Pantin was beaten in Yugorsk in the morning of May 21. The RIA Novosti Newswire reports this with reference to the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Directorate.
"A criminal case was initiated under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Battery). The person previously involved in the battery has been identified, and the police are dealing with him. He does not give any explanations yet," an unnamed agency’s source said.
They also said that the man was not involved in politics or social activities and had never been held administratively or criminally liable. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Directorate described the suspect as "a law-abiding citizen, who occupied a trade position".
In the morning of May 21, Anton Pantin reported in social networks that he had been beaten: an unknown person attacked him near his house and hit him at least a dozen times. The journalist was admitted to a trauma unit. He attributed the attack to the upcoming elections to the Duma of Yugorsk and the Duma of KhMAO.
Anton Pantin was a deputy of the Duma of Yugorsk. In 2019, his parliamentary mandate was discharged "due to the loss of credibility" because of violations found during the declaration campaign. Pantin has repeatedly criticized the city authorities publicly. In 2020, he also stood for the election of the head of the city of Sovetsky, but lost.
In April 2020, Anton Pantin was attacked by Vladimir Bendus, a member of the United Russia Party and the Duma of Sovetsky. His mandate was discharged after the incident.
