Beaten Russian woman had survived terrorist attack in 1995
The victim was identified as former photojournalist
Natalya Medvedeva, who was among the voluntary hostages during
the Budyonnovsk terrorist attack in June 1995. The attack was carried out by militants led by former Chechen "terrorist number one"
Shamil Basayev.
The woman explained that after surviving the attack, it was hard for her to stand the sight of people wearing traditional Muslim clothing in public places.
The woman attempted to rip the niqab off the head of the female passenger whom she found suspicious. The Muslim woman’s companion intervened in her defense, punched the elderly Russian woman in the head and dragged her by the hair into the train aisle while shouting.
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Russian woman tries to rip off Muslim passenger's niqab in Moscow metro
The victim was mistaken as a Chechen terrorist by the former Russian journalist who was taken hostage by Chechen militias in the 1990s. The man who punched her and broke her tablet was sentenced to 13 days in detention.