A Moscow court on Thursday ordered The New Times magazine to retract an article accusing an OMON riot police unit of corruption.
The court upheld a lawsuit filed by the Interior Ministry. The magazine said it would appeal the ruling.
On February 1, The New Times published an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev signed by five OMON officers complaining that they were forced to work "15-20 days in a row, for 20 hours a day."
It also quoted former OMON employees claiming officers captured migrants from ex-Soviet republics and forced them to work at the unit's base near Moscow. It also said they were put to work at the country homes of top police officials.
Other allegations included "standing orders" to destroy any protest rally banners against the president and prime minister.
OMON officers have often been criticized for their "heavy-handed" tactics in dispersing opposition rallies.
MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti)
