A journalist who was arrested by Russian forces in Chechnya, and then disappeared, has turned up in mysterious circumstances in the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan.

Andrei Babitsky is said to be in good health, but has been arrested again, this time by interior ministry troops in Dagestan.

An interior ministry spokesman in Dagestan is reported as saying the journalist was arrested in the capital, Makhachkala, during a routine check.

Mr Babitsky works for the US-funded Radio Liberty, and had been accused of collaboration with Chechen rebels.

He disappeared last month while still in Chechnya. It took the Russians 16 days to confirm they were holding him, and they say he was then handed over to Chechen rebels in exchange for prisoners of war.

Discussion

The Chechens denied this, and some people suspected he had remained in Russian hands. Nothing more was heard of him until his reappearance in Dagestan.

Mr Babitsky's wife, Lyudmila, told a Russian television station she had been in contact with her husband since his arrest in Dagestan.

"The discussion was very short. I asked him about his health, and he replied that everything was normal, and that he hoped to be home soon," she said.

"If he's not back tomorrow, I'll go to Makhachkala myself."

Veiled terms

A journalist working for the French news agency AFP in Dagestan said Mr Babitsky had called him shortly before his arrest to arrange a meeting.

"He called me this morning. He didn't say where he was calling from but he seemed well.

"We arranged in veiled terms the time and the place where we would meet, this evening in Makhachkala," said journalist Nikolai Topuria.

A BBC correspondent in Moscow says international pressure may have helped to secure his release, although the journalist's immediate future is still unclear.