In Volgograd, lady-journalist fined for articles about Chechen's torturing in colony

The Kirov District Court of Volgograd has fined by 200,000 roubles journalist Elena Maglevannaya, who published materials about facts of torture in Russian colonies, having found her guilty of disseminating false information, discrediting the honour and dignity of the Federal Service of Punishment Enforcement (known as "FSIN"), as reported by official spokesman of the Service.

The pretext for proceedings was the claim lodged by Medical-Corrective Establishment No. 15 of the Regional FSIN against Elena Maglevannaya, who had published materials about torturing convicted Chechen Zubair Zubairaev, entitled "Fate of Chechen in Russian Prison", "Convicted Chechen Is Still Tortured" and "Torture in Russian Colonies".

The Court found Maglevannaya's publications non-credible, in spite of the fact that Zubairaev's torture, as the "Caucasian Knot" reported, was confirmed, for example, also by the "Chechen Committee on National Salvation".

"The judge found the information materials published in the website 'Civitas' - Bulletin of Civil Society and in other human rights websites about Zubair Zubairaev's serving his term to have nothing to do with reality and obliged to publish a refutation and pay to the establishment moral damage in the sum of 200,000 roubles," a source in the FSIN said.

He has added that the aim of Ms Maglevannaya and the human rights activists who supported her was to have the convict transferred to Chechnya for further serving his term. Human rights activists tried to convince all the instances that the threat to Zubairaev's life and health exists, which is not true, as the "Gazeta.Ru" writes.

"By the way, the inmate will soon leave the Volgograd Region, since the court decided to change his custody regime to prison one, and our Region has no establishments of this kind," a source in the FSIN said.