Dudieva: on October 14, ECtHR to start considering complaint of Beslan victims

On October 14, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will begin considering the complaint lodged by victims of the terror act in Beslan School No. 1, said Susanna Dudieva, the Chair of the Public Committee "Mothers of Beslan". According to her story, today, on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, the limitation time for bringing those responsible to justice expires; however, no objective investigation has ever been carried out.

On September 1, 2004, a grouping of terrorists seized 1128 hostages at the School No. 1 of Beslan. The special operation to free the hostages was completed only on September 3, 2004. 186 children and 148 adults fell victim to the terror act. 12 special agents and one local resident, who helped in freeing the hostages, were killed during the storming of the school building. 810 persons of hostages, FSB special fighters, staff members of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and internal troops were injured.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that relatives of those killed in the terror act in Beslan appealed to the ECtHR back in 2007 asking to conduct an impartial investigation into all the circumstances of the terror act and death of hostages. In total, seven complaints were filed, which were combined into one case.

At a press conference, dated to the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, held in parallel with the mourning ceremonies, Susanna Dudieva said that victims' relatives were forced to turn to the ECtHR after finding no justice in Russian courts.

"We don't agree that there are no other perpetrators apart from the terrorist Nurpasha Kulaev," said Dudieva. In her opinion, it was necessary to negotiate, not to storm the school building. "I'm confident that terrorists were waiting for negotiations. Use of tanks and flame throwers during the assault was crazy," said Dudieva.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.