Russian journalist freed after conviction

Babitsky - guilty but free

Russian journalist Andrei Babitsky, whose reporting of the Chechen war is said to have infuriated the Kremlin, has been found guilty of travelling with false documents.

But the court, in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, is reported to have let Mr Babitsky go unpunished.

Russian authorities first arrested Mr Babitsky in January, in the Chechen capital Grozny. He then disappeared in controversial circumstances before reappearing in Dagestan.

Mr Babitsky's subsequent detention and court case aroused concerns over Russian President Vladimir Putin's attitude to press freedom.

The court in Dagestan fined Mr Babitsky $300.

However his employer, the American-funded broadcaster Radio Liberty, said Mr Babitsky's crime was covered by an amnesty announced in May, so the fine would be void.

Other charges, including one of belonging to an armed group, were dropped.

Conflicting accounts

After Mr Babitsky's initial arrest in January he was held in the Chernokozovo detention camp in northern Chechnya where he says he was beaten.

He also says he witnessed the torture of other inmates.

The Russians say that Mr Babitsky then agreed to be handed over to Chechen rebels in exchange for Russian prisoners.

Mr Babitsky disputes this. He says the Russian secret services arranged for him to be handed over to Chechen fighters loyal to Moscow.

His supporters say this was a crude attempt by the Kremlin to silence a critic seen by Moscow as a rebel sympathiser and collaborator.

Whatever the truth, Mr Babitsky re-emerged in Dagestan in February, detained for travelling under a false name with an Azeri passport.

Mr Babitsky's case coincided with increasing international criticism of Vladimir Putin's respect for human rights during the Chechen conflict.

Mr Putin subsequently ordered the release of Mr Babitsky on condition that he return to Moscow and later face trial.