18:19, 29 December 2005

Beslan commission's report cribbed

Materials from the Prosecutor General's Office and the report of the head of the parliamentary commission for an investigation into the terrorist act in Beslan coincide textually, Pravda Beslana (Beslan Truth) website editor Marina Litvinovich has told Radio Echo of Moscow. According to her, Mr Torshin's report quotes multiple excerpts from criminal case materials. The most painful issues were rewritten in the report from the materials, Ms Litvinovich says. So far, it has been impossible to obtain any comments on this issue from Mr Alexander Torshin.

Meanwhile, North Ossetia's ex president Alexander Dzasokhov has said that he was ready to give evidence as a witness at the trial of terrorist Nurpashi Kulayev in Vladikavkaz today, 29 December, but this hearing was cancelled at the request of victims (the next hearing has been scheduled for 12 January), Interfax-Yug reports.

On Wednesday, 28 December, Alexander Dzasokhov said that this year's last meeting of the Federation Council had taken place in Moscow. "Since I represent the republic in the nation's supreme legislature, I had to take part in this meeting and the discussion that came about," he said by phone from Moscow.

According to Mr Dzasokhov, he went to the Vnukovo airport on 28 December "to go to North Ossetia and take part as a witness in the trial of terrorist Kulayev, the only survival among the criminal bloody group."

Mr Dzasokhov had not come to the Kulayev case hearing on 27 December, which caused indignation on the part of victims. The latter promised to see the New Year in in the courtroom unless the attendance of Messrs Dzasokhov, Aushev, Gutseriyev, and others whom they consider to be the main witnesses was ensured, Caucasian Knot's correspondent reported.

The victims later agreed to leave the Supreme Court of North Ossetia, having written a statement though in which the Beslan Mothers Committee raised the issue of recalling the republic's ex-president Alexander Dzasokhov from the office of senator of the Federation Council. The statement reads that its authors believe that Mr Dzasokhov has not right to represent the Ossetian people in the Federation Council as he has not fulfilled the duty of president of North Ossetia governed by Article 80 of the Constitution of North Ossetia.

Alexander Dzasokhov was sent to the Federation Council to represent North Ossetia in June this year after he resigned as president of the republic.