Putin’s intervention saves war reporter

MOSCOW, FEB 29: Andrei Babitsky, the Russian war reporter who went missing in Chechnya under mysterious circumstances, was released in Moscow early on Tuesday after an intervention by acting president Vladimir Putin. He denounced the journalist’s detention by Russian forces.

Babitsky, a correspondent for the US-funded Radio Free Europe, was then flown from the Dagestan Republic to Moscow and set free. He was put on Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo’s private jet by Russian forces who had been holding the journalist in Makhachkala, the Dagestan capital, since Friday on charges of possessing a forged passport, Russian television reported.

"A few hours ago, I never thought this would happen. All I want to do now is rest," he told RTR Television from his apartment where his sister and daughters greeted him. Babitsky was released from detention by Moscow authorities on condition that he remains in the capital. The charges against him carry a maximum two-year sentence.

"We decided to let him go because his crime is not that grave," the interior ministry told Interfax news agency.