The editor of an opposition newspaper was arrested in Ufa

On April 28, 2006, Viktor Shmakov, editor of the opposition newspaper Provincial News, was arrested in Ufa in his own apartment. The arrest was made in a case initiated under Art. 280 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("public calls for extremist activities using the media").

As representatives of law enforcement agencies explained to V. Shmakov’s wife, in order to avoid attempts to hide traces or aggravate the situation, the editor was transferred to a pre-trial detention center.

Searches and seizures of part of the circulation of Provincial News were carried out in the house of Khasan Idiyatullin, an activist of the coordination headquarters of the united Bashkir opposition.

According to law enforcement agencies, cited, in particular, by the website NEWSru.com, Provincial News published “materials calling for the violent overthrow of the current government in Bashkiria and, in particular, the President of Bashkiria Murtaza Rakhimov.”

Sources

• The editor of the opposition newspaper Provincial News was arrested in Ufa // NEWSru.com. 2006. April 29.