Russian Journalist Babitsky Denies Wrongdoing

MAKHACHKALA, Russia —  Journalist Andrei Babitsky, whose reporting on the Chechen war for U.S.-funded Radio Liberty angered authorities, appeared in court in southern Russia on Monday accused of using a false passport.

Babitsky, whose case has prompted worries about press freedom in Russia, denied any wrongdoing and said he had been forced to use the document because his life had been in danger.

The prosecution disputes the fact that Babitsky’s life was under threat.

At the hearing, Babitsky’s lawyer and prosecutors questioned a police officer who had detained him in Makhachkala, capital of the republic of Dagestan, for holding a false passport.

Babitsky turned up in the city in February after disappearing for a month. He had gone missing at the height of the Chechen war and was then seen in a videotape that purportedly showed him being handed over to Chechen rebels in exchange for Russian prisoners of war. Babitsky says he made his way to Makhachkala after escaping his captors.