KARABULAK — A court in southern Russia has convicted a policeman in the 2008 killing of a journalist and sentenced him to two years in prison.

The victim's relatives have reacted angrily, saying the sentence is too light.

Journalist Magomed Yevloyev, who was critical of regional officials, ran a web site that reported abuses, abductions and killings plaguing the southern Ingushetia province.

He was shot in the head in a police car after being detained as he stepped off a flight from Moscow in August 2008. Police say he was shot accidentally during a scuffle.

The court on Friday convicted Ibragim Yevloyev, the former head of the local police chief's guard service, of involuntary homicide. The two men are not related.

The victim's relatives insist that the killing was premeditated.