A Russian court has convicted of slander a journalist who is confined to a wheelchair and brain damaged after a savage attack two years ago. He has, however, been spared the punishment.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Mikhail Beketov, editor of the weekly, Khimkinskaya Pravda, was on trial for slander for accusing the local mayor of being involved in an abortive attempt to blow up his car. Beketov had made the allegations against the mayor of Khimki, Vladimir Strelchenko, in September 2007 during a television interview. Khimkinskaya Pravda is published in the district of Khimki, just outside Moscow.
Beketov was left handicapped after a brutal assault on him in 2008. He now uses a wheelchair and is barely able to speak. The attack was said to be in retaliation for articles criticising local authorities. He has undergone eight operations and now lives in a clinic.
He was ordered by the Khimki court on Wednesday to pay nominal damages of 5,000 rubles (USD160). Judge Arkady Khalatov, however, then instructed that Beketov be spared any punishment because of the time that had elapsed since the "offence" was committed. Beketov appeared in the court accompanied by doctors. He was unable to make a personal statement.
Strelchenko had declared in court in Tuesday that he felt sorry for Beketov but also compelled to forge ahead with charges, according to Associated Press (AP). "There's nothing human left in this man," Lyudmila Fedotova, head of the Beketov Foundation support group, said of Strelchenko.
The Russian Union of Journalists criticised the judgment. In a statement, the union said, “We ask Mikhail and his lawyers not to appeal the verdict. Let it remain as it is, as a symbol of justice in Khimki and as a testament to the courage and nobility of the victor Vladimir Strelchenko.”
Deforestation in Khimki for the construction of the Moscow – Saint Petersburg highway is alleged to be mired in rampant corruption. Two journalist who wrote about the issue were severely assaulted recently.
