The state prosecution requires 12 years in prison for Budanov

The state prosecutor demanded to be sentenced to Colonel Yuri Budanov, accused of killing a Chechen girl, Elsa Kungaeva, to 12 years in prison.

Speaking on Friday in the court of the North Caucasus Military District, the state prosecutor Alexander Derbenev also stated that he insisted on depriving the defendant of military ranks and awards.

At the same time, the prosecutor questioned the conclusion of doctors who recognized Budanov as insane by the results of the psychological and psychiatric examination .

According to Derbenev, "Budanov’s behavior is absolutely adequate." Confirmation of this, the state prosecutor believes, is the fact that the defendant coped with his duties as a regiment commander.

Noting that Budanov’s testimony is very contradictory, the prosecutor said that this indicates the defendant's attempts to hide his deed, RIA Novosti reports.

On Friday, the North Caucasus Military District Court completed a judicial investigation in the process of Colonel Yuri Budanov, accused of the murder of a Chechen girl, Elsa Kungaeva.

At a meeting on Friday, Judge Viktor Kostin, presiding on the trial, announced the end of the judicial investigation and the transition to the debate.

At the morning meeting, the court listened to the statements of the parents of the deceased girl who claimed that Budanov was seen in sexual harassment in relation to another resident of the village. However, the court did not accept this information for consideration as no confirmation.

Budanov was not present at the meeting.

Over the past two days, the court has rejected more than 10 petitions fired by lawyers of the victim, Interfax reports.

On Friday, the victims tried to withdraw a lawsuit against Budanov for moral damage for 5 million rubles and for material damage for 34 thousand rubles. Lawyers said they intend to redirect these claims to the military unit, where Budanov served. However, the petition was rejected, since the military unit does not pass as a defendant in this process.

According to the investigation, on the night of March 27, 2000, Budanov arrived on an armored vehicle in the village of Tangi, captured Kungaev, who was considered a sniper of the militants, and took to the location of the unit. There he interrogated her, and then strangled her, after which he ordered his soldiers to bury the body of the murdered.

The term of detention of Budanov ends on January 3, after which the court has to decide on the further fate of the defendant.

Kungeev’s lawyers supported the demand of the state prosecutor

Kungaev’s family lawyers supported the claimant’s claim today regarding the sentence to Colonel Budanov.

The defenders of the victims Abdullah Khamzaev and Lyudmila Tikhomirova, who performed in the debate after the state prosecutor, believe that the requirements of the representative of the state prosecution are "justified and fair."

However, they did not name the specific terms of the sentence to the defendant, reports ITAR-TASS.

The next court hearing in the Budanov case is scheduled for Monday, December 30.