Oleg Panfilov, head of the Glasnost Fund monitoring media freedom, disclosed yesterday that Mr Babitsky was being held by Russian troops in a cellar in Urus-Martan, south of Grozny. The detention is absolutely illegal. The reporter could be jailed for five years if found guilty of joining the Chechen guerrillas. The World Association of Newspapers has just written to Mr Putin to point out that the killing of 11 journalists last year in Russia made the country the most dangerous place in Europe for the media. We remain seriously concerned at the appalling level of danger facing members of the press.
Independent journalists covering election campaigns reportedly remain at greatest risk.
Mr Khinshteyn has repeatedly sought to investigate allegations of corruption made against Boris Berezovsky, the millionaire Kremlin insider, and his ally, Vladimir Rushailo, the interior minister.