Missing Russian Journalist Appears in Dagestan Only to be Arrested For Carrying False Passport
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A Russian journalist who disappeared in Chechnya has resurfaced only to face a possible jail term. He had provided reports of Chechen rebel resistance for U.S.-funded Radio Liberty. CNN's Steve Harrigan continues the story.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The human chess game with Andrei Babitsky entered a new phase when state television aired police video with the Russian journalist. Babitsky, who's coverage of the war in Chechnya for U.S.-funded Radio Liberty angered the Russian government, first disappeared in January after being detained by the Russian army. Feared dead by many colleagues, Babitsky resurfaced three weeks later as part of a bizarre swap with masked men government claimed were Chechen rebels. Once again, Babitsky vanished. Friday he was arrested by police in a cafe in the southern republic of Dagestan carrying a false passport.</s>ANDREI BABITSKY, JOURNALIST: It's obvious my documents are false. But I was afraid to say who I was.</s>HARRIGAN: Who Andrei Babitsky is, is a question that divides many Russians. For some, he's a symbol of a free press persecuted by the state. But many ordinary Russians have little sympathy for a man who has been critical of a popular war.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RUSSIAN: He's the one who got himself mixed up into all of this trouble.</s>HARRIGAN: The attacks are nothing new for Babitsky's family, who kept a vigil by the television for weeks. Now they hope to see him in person.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've accused him of so many things it's hard to keep track. Let the lawyers decide. I just want to see my husband.</s>HARRIGAN (on camera): That may take time. Carrying a false passport in Russia can be punished by two years in jail. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Moscow.