MOSCOW – Journalists in southern Russia are protesting the arrest of a newspaper editor on charges of terrorism widely seen as trumped up.
Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, the religious affairs editor of the independent weekly Chernovik, was arrested Friday in the Caspian Sea province of Dagestan. He was accused of involvement in a terrorist organization and financing terrorism — charges based on testimony from another suspect who said it was extracted by torture.
The case follows the arrest of Moscow journalist Ivan Golunov on drug charges, which were dropped for lack of evidence amid public outrage.
Following the example of Russia’s top newspapers that put out front pages to support Golunov, three newspapers in Dagestan said Wednesday they would publish a joint editorial under the headline “I am/We are Abdulmumin Gadzhiev.”
