You're reading: Russian court convicts beaten reporter of slander

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian reporter who was savagely beaten has been convicted of defamation by a court near Moscow.

The court in Khimki, a town just outside the capital, issued a 5,000 ruble ($160) fine but said Mikhail Beketov didn’t have to pay because of a technicality.

The slander suit was filed by Khimki Mayor Vladimir Strelchenko over an interview in which Beketov accused him of involvement in blowing up his car in 2007.

Beketov had a leg amputated and is unable to speak after a 2008 attack that his supporters claim was retaliation for articles criticizing local authorities. No arrests were made. Beketov accused Strelchenko of "political terror."

Last week a prominent newspaper reporter was beaten in Moscow in an attack his supporters likened to the Beketov beating.