Prosecutor demands death penalty for alleged Beslan attacker

A Russian prosecutor today demanded the death penalty for the man alleged to be the only surviving attacker of the 2004 Beslan hostage seizure, in which more than 330 people died.

Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel as telling a court in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz that Nur-Pashi Kulayev should be executed.

“Based on the sum of the charges presented, I request that you take exceptional measures for punishment,” Shepel was quoted as telling the court by the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Shepel’s call echoes that of many survivors and relatives of victims of, but would be moot because of a moratorium on the death penalty imposed in 1996 when Russia joined the Council of Europe.

Many Russians support capital punishment, and some top government officials have proposed lifting the moratorium for convicted terrorists.