Russian journalist alleges censorship

The editor of a Russian internet news portal accused authorities yesterday of censoring bad news about the financial crisis after prosecutors questioned journalists reporting on troubled banks.

Prosecutors in the Sverdlovsk region in the Ural mountains said they had been ordered to monitor for signs of "information attacks" on banks after reports of liquidity problems sparked a run on several local banks last month.

The probe followed a speech by President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month in which he urged law enforcement agencies to prosecute anyone maliciously spreading rumours that could cause banks to collapse.

Aksana Panova, editor-in-chief of internet publication www.ura.ru which is based in the regional capital, Yekaterinburg, said a prosecutor had summoned her for questioning about her sources of information.

"It turns out that there are provocateurs like me who write about the crisis," Ms Panova said. "This is a throwback to the Soviet Union."

"It's not journalists they should be punishing, but the management of the banks that got into trouble."