Beslan school siege suspect goes on trial

The first trial following the bloody school siege in the southern Russian town of Beslan, in which more than 330 hostages, most of them children, were killed, begins today.

Nur-Pashi Kulayev, who faces terrorism, murder and other charges, has reportedly confessed to participating in the raid on School No 1 between September 1 and 3 last year, but denies killing anyone. The prosecution opens its case at 8am Irish time.

The seizure ended in mayhem when explosions went off, law enforcement forces waged pitched gun battles with militants and terrified children fled through bullets, broken glass and burning timbers. More than half of those killed were children.

Some residents of Beslan said they were anticipating the trial with dread, fearing painful memories would be dredged up.

Others said the trial was nothing more than a formality and an attempt by authorities to distract the public from the incompetence demonstrated by regional law enforcement, which allowed the 32 heavily-armed militants to seize the school with relative ease.

Susanna Dudiyeva, 44, whose son died in the school siege, heads the Beslan Mothers’ Committee, which has criticised regional and federal authorities for incompetence, both in protecting the school and in investigating the attack.

She said Kulayev would likely be convicted, but the whole trial, nevertheless, would only be a “spectacle”.

Samtsayev Elbrus, a legal analyst and regional human rights expert, said officials were also seeking to use the trial to calm inter-ethnic strife by tying Kulayev to international terror groups.

Many Ossetians blame their historic region rivals, the Ingush, for the attack; many of the militants were Ingush.

If convicted, Kulayev could get up to life in prison. Survivors of the attack and others have called for the death penalty, but Russia imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in 1996 to join the Council of Europe.

“The women of Beslan want him for themselves. We’ll take him in our own hands and show him proper punishment,” said Rita Sydakova, 44, wringing her hands and tearing at the air. “We’ll give him what he deserves.”