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From Svobodanews.ru, transcript of Radio Freedom broadcast, May 15th, 2006

A presentation of the book 'Nord-Ost: Investigation Incomplete' took place in Moscow

Program was conducted by Andrei Sharogradsky, and the interview was performed by Radio Freedom's Moscow correspondent Mariana Torocheshnikova.

Andrei Sharogradsky: In Moscow, within the framework of the 'Say No to Terror' festival, there was a presentation of the book 'Nord-Ost: Investigation Incomplete'.

Mariana Torocheshnikova: The authors of 'Nord-Ost: Investigation Incomplete' were seven people whose children died during the hostage rescue operation at the Dubrovka music center. This book, in essence, is a report on the investigations carried out by the relatives. I will be speaking with the co-chairman of the 'Nord-Ost' Regional Public Organization for Support to Victims of Terrorist Attacks, Tatiana Karpova, who lost her son during the rescue operation.

Tatiana Karpova: Since the criminal case was never closed,we wrote this book to inform the world community of our opinion that major terrorist attacks such as 'Nord-Ost', Beslan, and others must be investigated, and that truth made known so that others would not suffer from other such tragedies. This book contains no conjectures, rather, the major part of the book is composed of copies of documents, pages from the criminal case, which we are holding up to public scrutiny for the first time.

Certainly, it is terrible to state that the truth has been kept from us, that is, the real demands of the terrorists. Everyone remembers that the terrorists at first supposedly demanded the end of the war in Chechnya, an unrealistic demand that it be accomplished in 3 days, and so our government then refused to hold negotiations to release the hostages.

In reality, we discovered several documents that stated otherwise, these are from the hearings held back then by members of parliament Yavlinksy and Govoruhina, and reported by Anna Politikovskaya. These documents clearly show that there were 3 specific demands by the terrorists. The first: to stop shelling civilians, the second: an end to the 'cleansings' of so-called rebels, and the third condition: a direct telephone conversation between Mr. Putin and Mr. Mashadov, without intermediates. We also published this in our book, i.e.: that the conditions laid down by the terrorists were not unrealistic, that negotiations could have led to the release of hostages through peaceful means.

In this book we spoke about the endless falsifications in the investigation process. We provided documents from the government's own criminal case files, including page and volume numbers. For example, we have 117 of the 130 autopsies performed on the victims. So far, out of the 117 that we had access to, 79 contain the phrase "no medical assistance was rendered whatsoever".

Mariana Torocheshnikova: What do you expect, what kind of reaction do you think you'll receive from the Russian authorities after they've acquainted themselves with this book?

Tatiana Karpova: In principle, we expect nothing rom Russia, that I can honestly tell you. Therefore, our path leads straight to the West. Once again, we don't expect that the West will investigate this; it is absolutely erroneous to think that the West could reach some conclusion that Russia would actually listen to. We just wish that the public understood what is necessary. It is not because we want vengeance, but what is simply necessary - that high-level officials are really punished for their carelessness and irresponsibility, in other words, for the incompentence shown in the hostage rescue operation here, and at Beslan, and during other acts or terror. We place our hope in the voice of the community.

Mariana Torocheshnikova: The print run of this book is rather small, just two thousand copies in Russian and one thousand more in English. There simply wasn't money for more. The book was published thanks to funding from the Terrorism Victims Support Fund, an NGO. The management of the publishing company also helped as well. According to Tatiana Karpova, after finishing the print run, the company called up and said that they would give them a $1500 discount. The book will also be printed in a series in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, so that everyone can acquaint themselves with materials from the victims' own investigation into the terrorist attack on 'Nord-Ost'.

I guess some books you can judge by their covers :-/

Why are the Saudis and Iranians our friends?

Judge: Iran owes $254M in terror attack
Fri Dec 22, 12:40 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Iranian government financed a 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 Americans in Saudi Arabia and must pay $254 million to the victims' families, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth allows families of the victims of the Khobar Towers bombing to seek their compensation from assets that have been seized from the conservative Islamic regime in Tehran.

On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded in a military housing area known as the Khobar Towers dormitory near Dhahran. U.S. authorities have long alleged that the bombing was carried out by a Saudi wing of the militant group Hezbollah, which receives support from Iran and Syria.

Though Lamberth has previously ruled that a survivor of the blast could seek payment from Iran, Friday's ruling was the first time Tehran has been blamed for the deaths of the Americans in the bombing.

"The defendants also provided money, training and travel documents to Saudi Hezbollah members in order to facilitate the attacks," Lamberth wrote. "Moreover, the sheer gravity and nature of the attack demonstrate the defendants' unlawful intent to inflict severe emotional distress upon the American servicemen as well as their close relatives."

The lawsuit was brought by the families of 17 of the 19 people killed in the attack. Iran never responded to the lawsuit, did not send an attorney to appear in the case and isn't expected to pay the award. Iran has denied any connection to the bombing of the Khobar Towers and has rejected U.S. allegations of its involvement as "unfounded."

But the family members can seek payment from seized Iranian accounts. The Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, which arbitrated such issues, has long been closed to new claims so the families likely would have to seek payment through foreign courts such as Italy that have seized Iranian assets.

Thaddeus C. Fennig of Wisconsin, whose son was killed in the explosion, was pleased by the opinion.

"It shows this is not forgotten," Fennig said. "Once in a while, for some reason or another, this comes up with people and many of them don't even remember it anymore."

Lamberth relied heavily on testimony by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who investigated the bombings.

Two Iranian government security agencies and senior members of the Iranian government itself provided funding, training and logistical help to terrorists who carried out the attack on a dormitory that housed U.S. Air Force pilots and staff in Saudi Arabia, Freeh testified.

In 2001, the FBI announced it would charge 13 Saudis and one Lebanese in the attack. The U.S. indictment placed heavy blame on Iran for nurturing the attack but stopped short of mentioning any Iranians by name or linking them directly to Khobar.

All of the men charged were living oversees and at large at the time of the indictment. None has been extradited to the United States for trial and the case remains open.

The judge's decision comes as the U.N. considers imposing sanctions against Iran until it abandons its nuclear program. Iran insists its aims are peaceful; leading U.S. officials say they are convinced the Iranians intend to develop a nuclear weapon within the next decade.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061222/ap_on_go_ot/terrorist_bombing_lawsuit_6