Police in Moscow say they are searching for a group of unknown assailants who beat up a human rights worker on Monday.
Bakhrom Khamroyev, from the Russian human rights group Memorial, was attacked by several men who sprayed gas in his face and beat him over the head and legs as he entered his apartment block in south-east Moscow.
The attackers face hooliganism charges that carry up to seven years in jail.
Memorial head Oleg Orlov said the attack was aimed at disrupting Khamroyev's forthcoming trip to Russia's Arctic port of Murmansk, where he had arranged a meeting with an Uzbek national due to be extradited for allegedly taking part in Islamist militant activities.
Orlov said Khamroyev was attacked by security forces in December when he was working on a similar case involving the arrest of alleged terrorists from Central Asia.
Attacks on rights activists and journalists are common in Russia. Last year, well-known journalist and blogger Oleg Kashin was beaten up outside his Moscow home.
MOSCOW, June 7 (RIA Novosti)
