MOSCOW, April 21 (UPI) -- A Russian parliamentarian shoved a pregnant journalist at a press conference, pushing an aide towards her, and instructed him to "violently rape" her.
Russian Liberal Democratic party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky went on a tirade during a press conference that ended in him ordering his aides to "violently rape" pregnant Russia Today journalist Stella Dubvitskaya and adding that pregnant women should not be working anyway. Dubovitskaya is being treated for shock and Russia Today is taking legal action.
"Due to the disgusting incident in the state Duma," Russia Today general director Margaret Simonyan said in a statement, "after which our correspondent was hospitalized because of Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s discourtesy, we have decided to use all legal options to punish Mr. Zhirinovsky as severely as possible under the law, including by suing him."
When another reporter defended Dubovitskaya, Zhirinovsky called her a "damned lesbian." The question that reportedly started the tirade was about the crisis in Ukraine and whether Russia would impose sanctions on the nation as a result of recent conflict.
[HuffPost Live] [Washington Post]
