Russian Official Condemns ABC Broadcast

Russia’s foreign ministry reacted angrily to the “Nightline” airing of an interview Thursday night with the mastermind of the Beslan school massacre, Shamil Basayev, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “The foreign ministry summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Moscow, Daniel Russell, to express its disapproval.”

More: “Boris Malakhov, a Foreign Ministry official speaking on Russian television, said Moscow condemned the broadcast. By airing the interview, which was conducted by freelance journalist Andrei Babitsky, “the U.S. network demonstrated an outrageous disregard for standards of journalistic responsibility and human values.”

> “Knowing the subject matter would be controversial, ABC News alerted the Russian embassy earlier in the week,” the story notes.