In Dagestan, managers of "Novoye Delo" think prosecutor's check is revenge for "Nazi anecdote"

According to Hadjimurad Sagitov, deputy editor-in-chief of the popular independent Dagestan weekly "Novoye Delo" (New Business), there are no grounds for the pre-inquiry check initiated by the prosecutor's office of Dagestan of the weekly issue of August 27, 2010, where an anecdote was published about two SS-officers joking about smoke from crematorium chimney.

Let us note here that on August 31 it became known that the prosecutor's office of Dagestan had initiated a check on the fact of publication of the above anecdote in the "Novoye Delo". In the opinion of the prosecutor's office, this sort of humour is a mockery over the memory of millions of USSR and European citizens, tortured in SS concentration camps and burnt in crematoriums.

"We can agree that the anecdote is not politically correct, but neither managers nor the collective of the weekly wanted to offend anybody. If it has happened, we bring our deepest apologies," Hadjimurad Sagitov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He thinks that he cannot agree with the opinion of the local prosecutor's office. "Moreover, that in our editorial board there's not a single person who had not lost his or her relatives during the World War II," said Sagitov.

Marko Shakhbanov, editor-in-chief of the weekly, believes that such steadfast attention to their edition is explained by the stand of the journalists, who quite often criticize employees of the prosecutor's office.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the press service of the prosecutor's office of Dagestan that such publications should be surely reacted to; while the materials of the check will be sent to the investigatory department of Russian investigatory committee for Dagestan for making decision on initiating a criminal case.

Zubair Zubairuev, deputy head for information policy and press service of the president of Dagestan, has noted that there are no grounds in the anecdote for someone's attraction to criminal liability.