Russian investigators said Friday that they have launched a criminal probe into “attempted murder” following an assault on a federal lawmaker.
Mikhail Matveyev, a Communist Party member of Russia’s lower-house State Duma, said Thursday he had been attacked by “migrants” while attempting to stop them from harassing a passerby in the southern city of Samara.
“There’s migrant mayhem on the streets,” Matveyev, with his head bandaged, said in a video published on his personal Telegram channel.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, initially announced a criminal probe on hooliganism charges. But on Friday, its chief Alexander Bastrykin ordered regional investigators to reclassify the attack as “attempted murder” due to the “circumstances of the incident and a public outcry.”
Three people have been placed under arrest, the Investigative Committee said.
Matveyev, 56, published a series of videos in the aftermath of his attack, including a doctor placing stitches on his injured head.
He claimed the assailants were of Tajik, Uzbek and Russian ethnicity and had allegedly assaulted up to five people before he intervened.
Matveyev is known to have co-authored several bills aiming to curb migration in Russia.
Following Thursday’s incident, the Investigative Committee said it has recommended that the Duma adopt new legislation that tightens control over undocumented migrants and naturalized citizens who commit crimes or evade military service.
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