A popular Russian TV presenter was sacked on Wednesday after he criticised his station for taking an interview with the widow of a slain Chechen rebel leader off the air.
The dismissal of Leonid Parfyonov, one of the best known screen faces in Russia, triggered fresh fears among liberal media figures of tightening state censorship.
Parfyonov protested on Monday after his bosses at the NTV network withdrew an interview with the widow of Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who was killed in Qatar, from his flagship weekly review Namedni on Sunday.
Parfyonov rejected an official NTV explanation that the interview could cause problems for two Russian agents who are now on trial in Qatar charged with Yandarbiyev's murder. He said the decision had been made under pressure from the security services.
"I said from the very beginning that I will not take part in covering this up," an unrepentant Parfyonov said on Wednesday.
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