Dutch Diplomat Assaulted in Moscow

Dutch-Russia diplomatic relations taking a turn for the weird

Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have taken an odd turn recently. Last month, Russia seized a Greenpeace ship sailing under the Dutch flag. Just over a week ago, a high-level Russian diplomat in The Hague complained that police had beaten him. Then, Tuesday night, a Dutch diplomat of the same rank in Moscow said two men jumped him as he entered his apartment and roughed him up, leaving him bound with tape.

A Russian news Web site that enjoys good connections with the security services showed a photo of a mirror in the apartment on which the men had reportedly drawn a heart with lipstick around the Russian-language equivalent of the letters LGBT. Police said nothing was taken from the apartment.