A Moscow court this morning began hearing legal actions brought by victims of the theatre hostage-taking who are seeking damages for emotional and physical suffering.
Dozens of people who were either held or lost family during the three-day hostage crisis in October have brought 49 complaints against Moscow city authorities, seeking over $48 million in damages.
The court began hearing a first batch of 24 legal actions and was set to decide later in the day whether to accept to hear four more.
Lawyer Mr Igor Trunov condemned the court as being in the pocket of the Moscow city government, accusing the tribunal and its judges of accepting "presents," such as free telephones and apartments, from city officials.
"This is not an independent court," Mr Trunov told journalists. On Friday, the court is set to hear two separate groups of suits, one comprising 12 suits and a second comprising nine.
Mr Trunov said he had submitted another 12 lawsuits to the Moscow court seeking $11.5 million dollars in damages.
Some 800 theatre-goers were held by Chechen separatists in October, and 129 of them were killed in the crisis, most from the effects of a powerful gas pumped into the theatre by Russian special troops to subdue the hostage-takers before a pre-dawn raid.
AFP