Journalist sees prisoner pits in Chechnya

A Russian journalist, detained by the security forces in Chechnya on Tuesday, has returned to Moscow.

Anna Politkovska, a reporter with the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was detained at Khatuny, near the southern town of Vedeno, on the grounds of entering Chechnya without proper accreditation.

Miss Politkovska maintains that she had the necessary documents and has asked the Chechen military prosecutor to examine them.

Speaking before her flight, Miss Politkovska told the Russian commercial television station, NTV, that she had seen what she called a camp for civilians in Khatuny village where Russian soldiers are based.

Miss Politkovska said she had seen six metre deep pits which were used for holding prisoners.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service