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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| 13 Ingush found guilty |
| 2005-07-29 |
| A court found 13 individuals accused of an attack in Ingushetia in June 2004 guilty Thursday. Ten of the accused were found guilty of terrorism and direct involvement in the attack, and six were found guilty of involvement with illegal armed units, and also with attacks on police. Two defendants were found guilty of murdering civilians. On Tuesday, August 2, the court will consider the jury's verdict. The jury reached a verdict on Wednesday, but due to the working day being over, the announcement of the verdict was moved to Thursday. According to the prosecution, the accused "acted in cooperation with armed units created with the goal of using force to detach the Chechen Republic and other parts of the north Caucasus region from the Russian Federation, that is, with the aim of changing the constitutional setup and damaging the territorial values of the Russian Federation." Investigations showed that the attack was organized by the militant Shamil Basayev. As a result of the attack on an Ingushetia town in June 2004, 78 people were killed, the majority of whom were law enforcement officers, and 113 were wounded. Two of the defense lawyers partially admitted the guilt of the defendants in one minor episode, saying that their involvement was not premeditated. Against the more serious allegations, they upheld the innocence of the defendants. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |