Stanislav Dmitriyevsky

The editor of a US-funded newspaper in central Russia has been found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred in his coverage of the conflict in Chechnya. Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, the head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, was given a two-year suspended jail term. The charges relate to statements by Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, published by the paper two years ago.

The BBC's Moscow correspondent Emma Simpson says his Pravozashchita newspaper, part of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, is seen as one of the few independent sources of information about events in the troubled republic. The paper is frequently critical of the Kremlin's policies in Chechnya.

Russian prosecutors said the statements by Maskhadov - shot dead in March 2005 - and Akhmed Zakayev were aimed at fomenting racial and ethnic hatred. (Editor convicted for Chechen text)

The charges turned on letters written in 2004 by Aslan Maskhadov, a Chechen leader who was killed by Russians in March, and Akhmed Zakayev, a separatist spokesman granted asylum in Britain. (Russian Court Convicts Head of U.S.-Backed Rights Group)

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