MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) — A Russian court has acquitted journalists from an internationally respected newspaper in the Caucasus of charges of carrying extremist statements.
The case against the newspaper Chernovik was started after the weekly published an article in 2008 that contained quotes from a leader of the Islamic insurgents that commit frequent attacks in Russia’s Caucasus republics.
A court in the capital of Dagestan, where the paper is based, on Thursday acquitted editor Nadira Isayeva and four reporters of the charges.
Some critics saw the charges as an attempt to retaliate against the newspaper for its articles about police corruption and brutality.
The Committee to Protect Journalists media watchdog group last year gave Isayeva one of its International Press Freedom Awards.
