21 March 2017, 16:02
Victims’ defence criticize judgement on Zakaev’s case
The rights of the victims of the terror act in Dubrovka were not observed during the sentencing of Khasan Zakaev, said the advocates, adding that Zakaev would not be able to pay compensation to the victims in the total amount of 37.5 million roubles.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Zakaev was sentenced today by the Moscow District Military Court to 19 years in a high-security colony. The civil claims of the victims of the terror act were satisfied partially: the Court has ruled to collect 37.5 million roubles in favour of the victims from Zakaev.
The prosecutor asked the court to find Zakaev guilty of complicity to taking hostages in the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre in 2002 and sentence him to 23 years in colony, and to satisfy all the civil suits lodged by the victims to the amount of about one hundred million roubles. Zakaev himself said that, while transporting weapons, he had not known about the prepared hostage-taking.
The defence intends to appeal against the verdict, said Suleiman Ibragimov, a Zakaev's advocate.
Sergey Panchenko, an advocate for the victims, has treated the awarded compensation as "extremely small," noting that even at road accidents the amounts are higher.
Igor Trunov, the President of the Union of Advocates of Russia, who defended the interests of the victims of terror acts in Moscow and Volgodonsk, committed on September 9 and 13, 1999, at the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre, near the metro station "Rizhskaya" and in the stretch between the “Avtozavodskaya” and “Paveletskaya” metro stations in 2004, as well as from the terror act in “Domodedovo” Airport, has suggested that "the victims will get nothing."
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Oleg Krasnov Source: CK correspondent