Sergey Arakcheev rejects murdering Chechens in his video appeal to Putin

Sergey Arakcheev, a former MIA officer, who was convicted in 2007 to 15 years of imprisonment for murdering Chechen residents, has recorded a video appeal to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, where he states his innocence, and asks the Premier to get into the circumstances of his case.

In December 2007, the North-Caucasus District Military Court sentenced officers Evgeniy Khudyakov and Sergey Arakcheev for killing Chechen civilians to 15 and 17 years in prison. Only Arakcheev was arrested in the courtroom; Khudyakov failed to appear at sentencing. His advocate Irina Kuznetsova said that she knew nothing about her client's whereabouts. Chechnya met the guilty verdict to MIA officers with approval, while actions in their support were held in Russian cities.

Mr Arakcheev's video appeal was recorded as his interview on June 10 in the colony, where he is serving his sentence. The video is available at the website of Arakcheev's defence. "I didn't kill; there's no blood on me – this is the most important thing," said Sergey and added that he is "ready to undergo any examination with a lie detector." He is convinced that his case "abounded in falsifications and frauds."

Sergey Arakcheev said that he fell victim of political circumstances; moreover, "he had never fought with the Chechen people", and "is not sure that the Chechen people need a ritual victim" in his person.