Nord-Ost accomplice jailed for 7 years amidst calls for more stringent penalties for terrorism

Russian Journal ^ | February 12, 2004

[RussianConservative]

Mourners carry portraits of Kristina Kurbatova and Arseny Kurilenko, 13-year-old actors of the musical "Nord-Ost" who died in the hostage crisis, during a funeral at Vagankovo cemetery in Moscow. (AP)

MOSCOW — The Lefortovsky court of Moscow has sentenced a police officer- who had registered a Chechen woman that later took part in the Nord-Ost hostage crisis on Oct. 23, 2002 - to a seven-year imprisonment term. He was found guilty of fraud, bribe taking and abuse of official power for registering the woman in an apartment in Moscow.

The Nord Ost crisis, which lasted for three day, came to a deadly climax on Oct. 27, when a botched rescue operation by the Russian Special Forces, which entailed the use of some unidentified gases, later led to the tragic deaths of over 120 of the nearly 800 people held in captivity by a band of Chechen terrorists. Several more were injured in the process.

In a related issue, Moscow City officials have put the latest death toll from the Feb. 6 Metro blast at 41, while remains of the unidentified victims will be subject to DNA-marking techniques. Investigations into the blast are still in progress, according to official sources.

Still on terrorism, a raft of amendment proposals Criminal Code was submitted to the State Duma today, which will introduce a more stringent penalty, including life imprisonment, for terrorist activities in the country, said Pavel Krasheninnikov, chairman of the Duma committee on legal issues. The Duma has set Feb. 18 to consider the new bills. The author, Krasheninnikov, said the new the amendments could be approved before the end of February, according to Izvestia.

[RussianConservative]

bump list