Dagestan: editor-in-chief of "Chernovik" accused of kindling ethnic hostility

Nadira Isaeva, editor-in-chief of the Dagestan weekly named "Chernovik" (Blueprint), was charged under Article 282 of the Criminal Code ("Kindling of ethnic, racial or religious hostility").

It is not the first exposure of authorities' interest to "Chernovik". The "Caucasian Knot" reported that in November 2008 the Federal Court of the Lenin District of Makhachkala obliged the paper to publish a refutation and apologize to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the article by Biyakay Magomedov "Robots with Epaulets Are Wanted" (No. 27, July 4, 2008). The article gave bribe rates to be paid, according to the author, in order to take posts in the MIA system.

The criminal case on the fact of "Chernovik" publication was initiated on July 31, 2007. The pretext was found in publication on July 4, 2008, of the articles "Terrorists No. 1", in which one of militants' commanders Rappani Khalilov was quoted. In the opinion of the prosecutor's office, this one and a number of other articles justified terrorism. Another criminal case was opened against Nadira Isaeva, editor-in-chief of the edition.

Ms Isaeva found the expert's opinion, on which the criminal case was based, to be insufficiently reasonable and unfair and saw the overall objective of law enforcement bodies' actions against herself and her paper in blaming the paper as an extremist entity and close it.

Under the new criminal case, today and tomorrow, the charges will be presented to four more employees of the paper, as the "Gazera.Ru" was told by the "Chernovik". They were served summons to come to the Division for Especially Important Cases of the ICPO Department for Dagestan for having their charges presented. Should the journalists fail to appear for no valid reason, they can be forced there.