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First Russian Officer Goes On Trial On Chechen Murder Charges
MOSCOW, Feb 28 (News Agencies) - A landmark trial of a Russian army officer accused of killing a young Chechen woman opened Wednesday in a case rights observers said would test Moscow's resolve to crack down on abuses by its troops.
It came amid mounting allegations of war crimes committed by federal troops in the war-torn republic and the discovery last week of a mass grave on the outskirts of the ruined capital Grozny in which dozens of civilians were found.
However, the military court hearing in the southern city of Rostov was halted after just an hour when irate protesters demanded the accused Russian colonel be set free.
Yury Budanov's trial on kidnap and murder charges - the first such case to be heard in the course of the 17-month war - was due to resume Thursday as emotions ran high over the record of Russian troops in Chechnya.
"Freedom for the Russian officer Budanov," chanted dozens of people gathered outside Rostov's city courthouse. Most of the crowd was comprised of Russian Cossacks, who have traditionally taken a hostile view of their Chechen neighbors to the southeast.
The Chechen murder victim, Elza Kugayeva, 18, disappeared in the village of Tangi, south of Grozny, in March last year. Her raped and strangled body was found in the same area several days later.
Budanov, 37, was arrested on March 26th and charged with murder and rape, although the second count was later dropped.
The court will also hear allegations that another soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel Ivan Fyodorov, "did target practice by firing on peaceful civilians" while stationed in Chechnya.
The hearings are expected to last for more than a week and to involve testimony from 28 witnesses.
"Without doubt, there is guilt on Budanov's part," admitted his lawyer Anatoly Mukhin in televised remarks.
"And Budanov, in part, admits to this. He is very sorry that this happened to the Chechen girl," said the lawyer, who also requested that the hearing be held behind closed doors.
Chechen separatists last summer threatened to launch a bombing campaign on Russian territory should federal forces fail to hand over Budanov for trial according to strict Islamic Sharia' law.
The Russians refused but the Chechen threat was never carried out.
Western human rights groups have repeatedly accused Russian troops of human rights abuses, and have blasted federal authorities for being slow to investigate the charges.
"The story is not really about Budanov," said Pavel Krasheninnikov, a leading liberal lawmaker who once served as Russia's justice minister.
"I just hope that this is not the first such case. Crime is being committed in Chechnya by both the rebels and Russian soldiers, and in each case justice must prevail."
Aslambek Aslakhanov, the only Chechnya representative in the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) accused Budanov of treating Chechen civilians in a brutal fashion that was commonplace among many federal soldiers.
"This is a man who thought he could get away with anything," Aslakhanov said. "He is not a hero. He is a criminal."
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