22:06, 16 January 2007

Officers accused of killing peaceful Chechnya residents refuse to plead guilty

Officers Evgeniy Khudyakov and Sergey Arakcheev, accused of murdering peaceful residents of Chechnya, refuse to admit their guilt. The trial on the case is underway at the North Caucasian Regional Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, the "Echo Moskvy" reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed, with a reference to the materials of the case, that on January 15, 2003, Khudyakov and Arakcheev were in command of a scout group in charge of a special mission not far from the "Severny" Airport. They blocked one of the roads with an armoured troop-carrier, stopped a passing "Volga" passenger car, and detained the driver. After a while, a KAMAZ truck appeared on the road. The indictment states that Evgeniy Khudyakov shot dead its driver and two passengers. The militaries put all the bodies into the truck, poured gasoline over them and set on fire.

The Khudyakov-Arakcheev's case was twice considered by a jury, and both times the servicemen were acquitted, then the Supreme Court sent the case to a new consideration.