Opposition magazine is raided by riot police

Armed and masked Russian police raided an opposition magazine yesterday, pressing journalists to hand over interview recordings used in reports on alleged abuses by the much-feared OMON riot police.

The New Times is one of Russia's few prominent opposition media outlets and has published exposes of high-level corruption. Media rights groups say Russia is among the most dangerous nations in which to be a journalist.

A handful of police entered the magazine's Moscow office seeking recordings of interviews and other material used in a February report that cited police sources saying OMON officers are permitted to commit abuses when breaking up protests.

"We suggest you voluntarily - voluntarily - give us the recordings of the interview with the current and former OMON staff," the officer in charge of the raid told editor Yevgenia Albats.

The raid was part of a defamation investigation into current and former officers the magazine interviewed for its report, Ms Albats said. "If you refuse to do this we will put this in writing," the officer, Colonel Stanislav Pashkovsky, said.

Ms Albats, a vocal Kremlin critic, refused to hand over the recordings.

"One of the sources gave his name and the second source…gave us an interview on terms of confidentiality and repeated several times he did not want to give his name because it would put his life in danger," she said.

She later said she did hand over a 43-page interview transcript but refused to divulge the names of any confidential sources or any provide any material, such as audio or video recordings, that could help police identify any source. She said the law prohibits media from disclosing confidential sources unless there is a court order and the case in question has come to trial.

The case initiated in connection with the magazine's report is still being investigated and has not come to trial.