Rights defenders treat trial in Alexander Malofeev's case in Chechnya as controversial

Human rights defenders Oleg Orlov and Svetlana Gannushkina have estimated the trial in the case against Alexander Malofeev in Chechnya as controversial. According to Oleg Orlov, there is no evidence of the Alexander Malofeev's involvement in the killings of soldiers in the combat actions in Grozny. Svetlana Gannushkina believes Alexander Malofeev is not forgiven, since he is a Ukrainian.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 29, the Shatoi District Court of Chechnya found Alexander Malofeev guilty of the killings of Russian soldiers in Chechnya. The defendant was sentenced to 24.5 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony and fined 41 million roubles for compensation to the families of the victims.

Oleg Orlov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", treats the trial in the case against Alexander Malofeev as controversial. Oleg Orlov has noted that the bodies of the soldiers, allegedly killed by Alexander Malofeev, were not found.

According to Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the committee "Civil Assistance", after the first Chechen war, the Khasavyurt Accord was signed, which supposed to relieve Alexander Malofeev of the responsibility for the actions in Grozny.

"He is on a prisoners' dock for the fact that he fought in a foreign war. A Chechen could be forgiven, but a Ukrainian could not," Svetlana Gannushkina told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

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