A court in the Daghestani capital of Makhachkala has ruled that the newspaper "Chernovik" must apologize to the republic's Interior Ministry in connection with an article that the court ruled had harmed its "professional reputation."
The suit was filed by Interior Ministry officials over an article headlined, "Wanted: Robots In Epaulets," which was published on July 4. The article reported the size of the bribes needed, according to the author, in order to be awarded various positions within the ministry.
The court ruled that the information in the article did not correspond to reality and ordered the newspaper to print a retraction.
"Chernovik" owner Khadzhimurat Kamalov says the newspaper plans to appeal the ruling.
"Chernovik" is one of the most popular publications in Daghestan. However, pressure against the newspaper by various groups within the republican administration has been stepped up recently.
(by Uma Isakova of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service)