| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Beslan Survivors Sue Russia in European Court
89 victims of the Beslan school siege crisis have filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The Beslan survivors seek to prove that Russian officials violated their right to life, a fair investigation and trial.
Voice of Beslan, a support group of parents of children who were among 365 victims of the 2004 North Ossetian Beslan hostage crisis, filed the complaint ten days ago. The court has not as yet initiated the proceedings, waiting for some more documents to come, the European officials told Kommersant.
The complaint is based on verdicts in trials against Nurpasha Kulaev, the only terrorist to survive the siege, and three former chiefs of local police. Voice of Beslan is also protesting prosecutors’ decline to charge members of the staff who were managing the hostage operation in Beslan.
The claimants say the Kulaev trial infringed their right to a fair investigation as not all witnesses testified. Voice of Beslan appealed the verdict in two other courts. A plea against the ruling of the case against North Ossetian police officers is still pending at the republic’s Supreme Court. Ella Kesayeva, leader of Voice of Beslan, says the decision is likely to come soon, which will enable the European Court to initiate the proceedings. “We are convinced that amnesty for members of the counterterrorism operation which was also extended for heads of the Pravoberezny Interior Department, was granted to protect those who can yet be involved in the case,” including former North Ossetian President Alexander Dzasokhov.
The complaint says that Russian officials infringed their right to life, a fair investigation and trial. “Authorities failed to take adequate steps in the hostage crisis to save as many lives as possible through compromises and talks,” the appeal reads. “Most of the people died from actions of the operation staff, not the militants.”
The case consideration will take at least two years, according to the support group’s lawyers.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 04, 2007
|
|
|
