[Ben] Ru - Beslan trial

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Last September, a raid by insurgents on a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, left 330 people, many of them children, dead. Now, some eight months later, the only surviving hostage-taker, Nur-Pashi Kulayev (a 24-year-old Chechen carpenter), has gone on trial now, facing nine charges (including murder, banditry and terrorism).

Today, during the first session, the culprit fainted and needed medical assistance. Maybe, seeing the mothers of the dead was just something not very common for a terrorist:

After guards escorted Kulayev into the courtroom, several woman started crying and yelling. One woman tried to walk up to the cage to show Kulayev a newspaper page with dozens of color photographs of dead children.

However, Mr Kulayev has pleaded not guilty, claiming that he was forced to participate in the attack, against his will. With a quiet voice, he confirmed that he is from the Chechen village of Engenoy (Noshay-Yurtowsky region). He says that he is married with two children, aged one and two.

Outside of the court, women held up photos of their killed children. Echo Moskvy reported that one mother who lost her daughter and her grand-daughter demanded: "One does not have to pass a sentence on him. One should tear him to pieces."

Something that I didn't know before: According to the Russian judiciary, there was another terrorist group on stand-by in neighbouring Ingushetia, ready to take over another school in case the Beslan group had been halted.

Andy from SiberianLight has his thoughts:

There is extreme pressure on the court in this case. The Russian people, and particularly the people of Beslan will want to see concrete proof that the perpetrators of this atrocity are not only being brought to justice, but are being punished. I have no idea whether Kulayev actually was press-ganged into service or not, but I hope that the court will take this opportunity to investigate his claims fully, and not brush them under the carpet in its desire for a quick verdict.