The Russian editor of a Moscow newspaper has said he stands by the decision to devote its front page last week to the death of Alexei Navalny – which led to copies being confiscated.
Sobesednik published a two-page spread on the Russian opposition leader on 20 February – four days after his death.
The issue included a lengthy obituary and coverage of vigils held in his honour across Moscow.
The edition ran with a front page photograph of Mr Navalny smiling with the caption: “…but there is hope!”
In an interview with Reuters, Sobesednik’s editor-in-chief Oleg Roldugin said: “There was a newsbreak – a man who is well known and influential enough had died.
“Therefore, we did our normal journalistic work, which our colleagues were supposed to do.”
The weekly newspaper was confiscated from news stands “without any legal justification” when they went up, he said.
For now, Mr Roldugin said there are no problems with distributors, but the paper is braced for a possible further crackdown.
Under Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has clamped down on press freedom, shutting nearly all independent media outlets or forcing them into exile.
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