WASHINGTON, October 16 (RIA Novosti) – The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned the overnight attack on a senior Dutch diplomat in his Moscow apartment, and expressed concern about reports that the assault may have been an anti-gay crime.
“We call on the Russian authorities to thoroughly investigate this unacceptable attack and bring to justice those responsible,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a daily briefing.
“We are also disturbed by a reported anti-LGBT element” to the assault, Psaki said, adding that it was “crucial for the Russian government to ensure a climate of tolerance and reassure their own people and foreign visitors that Russia is a safe place for all.”
Unknown assailants on Tuesday evening forced their way into the central Moscow home of a diplomat identified by Russian officials as 60-year-old Onno Elderenbosch, an aide to the Dutch ambassador to Russia, pushed him to the floor and tied him up before ransacking the apartment, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Russian tabloid news website Life News reported that the attackers did not steal anything, but drew a large pink heart on a mirror and scrawled "LGBT" beneath it, suggesting a homophobic motive.
Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the attack, and the foreign ministry in Moscow has expressed regret for the “deplorable incident,” which comes days after a Russian diplomat in the Netherlands was arrested by Dutch police after his neighbors reportedly accused him of mistreating his children.
Russian state television Rossiya-24 reported that Dutch police forced their way into the apartment of the Russian diplomat, who was identified as a deputy to the ambassador, assaulted him, and then held him at a police station for several hours without explanation.
