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Russian Lawyer Attacked With Green Dye in Moscow

Lawyer Yelena Ponomareva. Social media

A Russian lawyer was attacked and doused in green antiseptic dye at a bus stop in Moscow on Thursday.

Yelena Ponomareva, 46, said she was diagnosed with second-degree chemical eye burns following the attack carried out by an unidentified assailant. 

A photo shared by her colleague showed Ponomareva’s head, arms and dress fully covered in the green antiseptic commonly known in Russia as zelyonka.

Independent legal news outlet Advokatskaya Ulitsa said Ponomareva had been under state protection following past attacks.

“I previously received threats to my life and health… in connection with my professional activity,” Ponomareva wrote on Facebook early Friday, without specifying which activities in particular would have made her the target of such an attack.

Ponomareva uploaded a photo of her car covered in white paint, saying it had previously been vandalized with paint and had its tires punctured.

The Moscow region bar association, which first reported the attack on the lawyer late Thursday, said law enforcement had yet to open a criminal investigation into the incident.

It was the second high-profile attack using zelyonka this week, with award-winning Novaya Gazeta journalist Yelena Milashina brutally assaulted and covered with the green antiseptic in Chechnya on Tuesday. 

Attacks using the dye have become widespread in Russia, as both jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov have been assaulted with zelyonka.

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