A woman in Moscow Region was allegedly punched in the face by a man on Wednesday over her choice of clothes. According to law enforcement officials, the suspect has already been detained, while media reports have identified him as a Tajik national.
Speaking to RT Russia, the woman explained that she had been on a morning run in the town of Nakhabino, around 30km to the west of Moscow, when the man started walking towards her.
“He was trying to occupy most of the road and seemed to want to prevent me from running. I thought he wanted to ask something, so I took off my earphones and looked at him,” the woman said, noting that it was the first time she had ever seen the man.
The attacker then reportedly grabbed the woman by the hand and demanded to know why she was running and was dressed in that way. Without waiting for an answer, the attacker then hit her in the face “with all his strength,” according to the woman. She stressed to RT that she had not been dressed “provocatively” and had simply been wearing a T-shirt and running shorts.
The woman then attempted to back away from the assailant, who continued to pursue her while she recorded him on her phone. A passerby stepped in and attempted to explain to the man that the woman was simply out for a run. The attacker then reportedly declared that women should not do sports before fleeing the scene.
Multiple media reports have suggested that the man has been identified as 20-year-old Tajik national Shakhzod Juraboev. According to the Mash Telegram channel, he came to Russia several years ago to work, but in 2022 ended up in a mental health hospital after he began to hear voices. The same year, he was reportedly released after being deemed not dangerous to society.
No official confirmation of the suspect’s identity has been released, although Russia’s Interior Ministry published a video showing the detained man, in which he can be heard stating that he does not have Russian citizenship and came to the country to work.
In the video, he also confirmed that he had attacked the woman and explained to detectives that he had done so to “save her from sin.”