Beslan siege trial resumes

Russian prosecutors are resuming their case today against Nur-Pashi Kulayev, the only man to go on trial for the Beslan school raid that killed more than 330 people.

The Supreme Court of North Ossetia, the republic that includes Beslan, began the trial on Tuesday, but it was adjourned after prosecutors spent nearly six hours reading a seemingly endless list of those killed and wounded and listing medical injuries in minute detail.

It was unclear when the first witness testimony would be heard or when Kulayev would enter a plea to the charges that include terrorism and murder. Deputy prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel has said the entire trial could take three to four months.

More than 1,200 hostages were held in a sweltering gymnasium at Beslan’s School No 1 from September 1 to 3 last year by more than 30 heavily-armed militants.

The raid ended in a maelstrom of explosions, gunfire and frightened bloody children fleeing the mayhem. More than half of those killed were children.

Officials say 31 of the militants were killed either during or after the final day of fighting.

Kulayev watched the first day of proceedings slumped and emotionless in a courtroom cage. In television footage last year, he was shown confessing to participating in the raid, but said he personally did not kill anyone.

If convicted, Kulayev could receive 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.