Female Chechen Boxer Attacked in Switzerland

A female boxer from Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya was assaulted in Switzerland last week, independent media reported Monday, citing a Chechen-language video posted by the athlete.

Aminat Elbukaeva, 28, who trains at the Boxen zur Bildung club in Bern, said she was struck from behind while walking home from a training session, losing consciousness immediately. She was then repeatedly hit in the face, sustaining deep wounds on her forehead and cheek.

This marks the second reported attack on Elbukaeva in the past six months.

In June, the boxer suffered a concussion and multiple rib fractures after five Chechen men attacked her on the street. Elbukaeva linked the earlier assault to her professional activities, suggesting the attackers disapproved of a woman from a Muslim-majority region participating in a sport they viewed as masculine.

Swiss police reportedly arrested the perpetrators of the June attack as they attempted to leave the country. However, several Chechen bloggers have alleged that the instigator of the assault remains in Chechnya and is connected to other incidents of online harassment and smear campaigns targeting Chechen women.

“They attacked me just because I am a boxer, because I do sports,” Elbukaeva wrote on Instagram following the June attack. “It has nothing to do with [real] Islamic or Chechen traditions or [real] Chechen men because all three forbid raising a hand against a woman.”

“Yes, I do boxing, but it doesn’t mean any man can come up to me and start fighting. I do this sport with permission from my father and my relatives,” she added.

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