| The case of terrorist Kulaev has come to an end The Supreme Court of North Ossetia on Friday completed the announcement of the verdict in the case of Nurpashi Kulaev, the only survivor of the attack on a school in Beslan in September 2004. As expected, he was found guilty "of all the crimes charged against him." Presiding officer Tamerlan Aguzarov noted that the bandit “deserves exceptional punishment.” Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel, who represented the prosecution, also asked for such a punishment. However, taking into account the current moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, the court applied the punishment “in the form of life imprisonment in a special regime colony.” Until the verdict comes into force, Kulaev will be kept in the Vladikavkaz pre-trial detention center, on death row. Apparently, he won't be there long. Kulaev’s lawyer, Albert Pliev, as our newspaper reported, plans to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court of Russia. But given the significance of this case, this complaint will obviously be considered in record time and, without a doubt, will be left unsatisfied. And in a month or two, most likely, Kulaev will be sent to a colony, where he will spend the rest of his days.
The completion of the trial of Kulaev was commented on sparingly by its participants - representatives of the prosecution and victims. They outlined their positions a long time ago, during the trial, which was accompanied by many scandals and mutual accusations. And the development of events after the verdict, which was predetermined from the beginning, was already clear then. The victims - former hostages and parents of dead children - are determined to bring to justice the heads of the special services who, due to their inaction or lack of professionalism, allowed the militants to break through, and intend to complain against the Russian authorities to the European Court of Human Rights. Representatives of the prosecutor's office constantly emphasized that the trial of Kulaev is only one episode of the “main” criminal case about the events in Beslan, the investigation of which is still ongoing, but the guilt of any of the heads of the special services has not been established.
Reading the final part of the verdict on Friday took just over an hour. Relatives of the hostages killed in the terrorist attack had difficulty restraining their emotions. In their hands they held photographs of the dead children and photographs taken during the storming of the school.
Judge Tamerlan Aguzarov immediately noted: “The court carefully studied the case materials and found Nurpashi Kulaev’s guilt fully proven under all the articles incriminated against him under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: terrorism, murder, encroachment on the lives of law enforcement officers, hostage-taking, banditry, kidnapping, illegal carrying of weapons.” . During the judicial investigation, it was established that Kulaev “voluntarily, and not under duress” participated in an armed gang with the specific purpose of “committing acts of terrorism, putting pressure on the state and taking hostages.” This, as noted in the verdict, was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses Muzhikhoeva and Ganiev that “the defendant and his brother Khanpasha were members of an armed group led by Shamil Basayev.” “This is clear from the testimony of the defendant Kulaev’s father, who was interrogated as a witness, that his sons - Nurpasha and Khanpasha - were part of the group of militants led by Basayev,” the judge said. The court also found it proven that Kulaev had repeatedly used violence against hostages and used weapons throughout his entire stay at school. “Victims Berdikova, Drasov and Atayev testified that when they asked for help for the sick and wounded, Kulaev, using obscene language, struck the hostages with the butt of a machine gun. In order to intimidate the hostages, he fired shots over their heads and used violence against young children in the gym. In addition, Kulaev repeatedly forced children to stand near the windows as human shields. And from the testimony of the victim Kazieva, it follows that when on September 3 a blast wave threw her out the window, Kulaev threw a grenade in her direction,” the verdict says.
In addition, the court rejected the militant’s testimony that the terrorists “did not use narcotic substances” during the seizure of the school. The results of the forensic examination indicate otherwise. In the blood of 17 killed militants, experts found morphine and codeine, which “stimulated the vital activity of terrorists during the seizure of the school.”
According to the verdict, the defendant’s arguments that he was not provided with an interpreter and a lawyer during the preliminary investigation, that he gave testimony under pressure from police officers, and that he signed the protocols “without reading” were also not confirmed by the verdict. “The investigation did not allow unlawful methods against the defendant. He testified in the presence of a lawyer, in Russian. And neither the defendant nor his lawyer filed a single petition for violation of rights at that time,” noted Judge Aguzarov. In this regard, the court recognized Kulaev’s initial testimony as “reliable,” and regarded the change in testimony during the judicial investigation as an attempt to “evade criminal responsibility for what he did.”
As a result of the actions of Kulaev and his accomplices, 331 people died, including 186 children. Two employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, ten employees of the FSB and one resident of Beslan, who took part in rescuing the hostages, also died. 728 hostages and residents of Beslan, as well as 55 FSB officers, police and military personnel were injured. The court estimated the material damage from the terrorist attack at 32 million rubles. “Therefore, in view of the special danger that the defendant poses to society, the court found that Kulaev deserves capital punishment - the death penalty. However, taking into account the moratorium on the death penalty, the court sentences the defendant to life imprisonment in a special regime correctional colony,” the judge concluded.
After this, Mr. Aguzarov asked Kulaev if he understood the sentence. The terrorist answered in a barely audible voice: “Yes, I understand. But I don't agree with him. And in general, these are all made-up fairy tales.”
After these words, the women jumped out of their seats and rushed to Kulaev. “Bastard!”, “Killing you is not enough!”, “You brought all of Ossetia to its knees!”, “Damn you and your children!” - the victims shouted. However, police officers quickly pushed the women into the corridor.
Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel immediately told reporters that he was “satisfied with the verdict, since Kulaev was found guilty of all the charges that were charged against him.” Once again he emphasized: “The Kulaev case is just an episode of the main Beslan case, the investigation into which is ongoing.” According to Mr. Shepel, this is “a case of international terrorism.” “Currently, investigative actions are underway to establish contacts in the south of Russia and financing from abroad to undermine the country’s peaceful activities,” said the deputy prosecutor general. -- About 30 people have already been identified as being involved in various terrorist attacks in the south of the country. Criminal cases are being investigated against 26 militants.”
In turn, the victims, who gathered at a press conference after the verdict, said that they were not sure that besides Kulaev they would see anyone else in the dock, but they would still seek a full investigation of the so-called main case. “We will ensure that the leaders of the operational headquarters sit next to Kulaev - the ex-head of the republic Dzasokhov, the former heads of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs Andreev and Dzantiev,” said the leader of the “Voice of Beslan” committee Ella Kesaeva. As for Kulaev’s punishment, she is sure that the militant “must be left alive, he is too valuable a witness.” Ekaterina KARACHEVA |
|
