Russia: Authorities close Chernovik for extremism
Posted by Katherine Thompson on August 7, 2008 at 9:51 AM
A newspaper in the Republic of Dagestan has been close down by Russian Authorities. Russia's Prosecutor General said on Wednesday that Chernovik has spread extremist views in its newspaper.
The statement, published on the Office's website, accused the newspaper of "lionizing terrorists and prompting the reader to conclude that Russia's constitutional order must be overthrown." It also says that, "The text of the article distorts the religious situation, calling for 'heads to be cut off infidels' and banning the reading of religious texts in Russian." Dagestan is a largely Muslim country.
Nadir Isayev, Chernovik's editor, declared that "one of the pillars of democracy is an independent media which can criticize the authorities" and insisted that his newspaper was not promoting militant Islam and was just following an independent editorial agenda, according to Reuters.
Russian Authorities closed other newspapers and website for similar reason in recent years.
Source: Reuters
The statement, published on the Office's website, accused the newspaper of "lionizing terrorists and prompting the reader to conclude that Russia's constitutional order must be overthrown." It also says that, "The text of the article distorts the religious situation, calling for 'heads to be cut off infidels' and banning the reading of religious texts in Russian." Dagestan is a largely Muslim country.
Nadir Isayev, Chernovik's editor, declared that "one of the pillars of democracy is an independent media which can criticize the authorities" and insisted that his newspaper was not promoting militant Islam and was just following an independent editorial agenda, according to Reuters.
Russian Authorities closed other newspapers and website for similar reason in recent years.
Source: Reuters
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