Supreme Court upholds acquittal of Ingush militiamen on Beslan events

Today, the Supreme Court of Russia has upheld the acquittal verdict to commanders of the Malgobek ROVD (District Interior Division) of Ingushetia accused of professional negligence during the events in Beslan in September 2004.

"The Judicial Board has ruled as follows: the verdict of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia of October 5, 2007, in relation to Mukhazhir Evloev and Ahmed Kotiev shall be left unchanged, and the cassation complaints - unsatisfied," the judge said when announcing the decision.

Thus, the cassation complaint of more than 200 victims has been rejected, the ITAR-TASS reports. The victims in the case had asked to cancel the acquittal verdict based on the verdict of jurymen because of remedial violations, the "Interfax" reports.

"In particular, the jury included relatives of the defendants and terrorists," Ella Kesaeva, representative of the victims and member of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan", told to the RIA "Novosti".

In this context, the victims assert that the jurymen were interested in the outcomes of the suit.

Among the violations, Ms Kesaeva has also named the discrepancies between the printouts of the judicial sessions and the minutes, which were taken at the court sessions. "There were clamant violations at the sessions," she said.

The trial was held in the closed mode, as the files of the criminal case were classified.

After the session, Ella Kesaeva has informed that the victims are going to appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia to the European Court for Human Rights.

See earlier reports: "In North Ossetia, hearing adjourned on holding repeated examinations of Beslan victims' bodies," ""The Voice of Beslan" has appealed against acquittal of militiamen in Ingushetia SC."