Russia

Military Crimes In Chechnya To Go Before Military Tribunals

Chechen President Alu Alkhanov (file photo) (AFP) April 6, 2006 -- Russia's Constitutional Court has ruled that grave crimes committed by the military in Chechnya will be tried by military tribunals.

The ruling comes after a jury outside Chechnya acquitted four Russian commandoes accused of killing six Chechen civilians.


The acquittal of Captain Eduard Ulman and three subordinates sparked public outrage in Chechnya, where rights advocates and many Chechens say Russian forces act with impunity.


Chechen President Alu Alkhanov turned to the Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of Ulman's jury trial. The case has been appealed and will now be heard by a military tribunal.


Trial by jury is to be introduced in Chechnya next year.


(ITAR-TASS, Interfax, AP)

The Chechnya Conflict

The Chechnya Conflict

The aftermath of a December 2002 Chechen resistance attack on the main government building in Grozny (epa)

CHRONOLOGY

The fighting in Chechnya has raged, with short breaks, since 1994. It has brought misery, death, and destruction to the North Caucasus republic and to Russia as a whole. View an annotated timeline of the conflict.



ARCHIVE

 RFE/RL's complete coverage of Russia's war-torn Republic of Chechnya.