Moscow region police on Wednesday accused a local reporter of staging an attack on himself for unclear reasons, Interfax reported.
Anatoly Adamchuk, a reporter with the Zhukovskiye Vesti newspaper in the town of Zhukovsky, denied the police claims as “vile statements,” the report said.
Adamchuk said unidentified men beat him on the head Sunday night while repeating the name of his newspaper in an indication that the attack was linked to his work. He had recently written about razing of a nearby forest.
But local police said Adamchuk had asked a 19-year-old student of a theater club he runs in Zhukovsky to help stage the attack. The student contacted a friend, an 18-year-old kickboxer, who was paid 1,000 rubles ($32) to punch Adamchuk twice to give him bruises.
Police did not release the names of the two teens but said both had been detained and admitted to their roles in the incident. A police spokesman said Adamchuk may face charges of making a false statement, punishable by up to six years in prison.