Defence of Dubrovka victims accuses the authorities of falsification

The advocates of the victims of the terror act in the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre demand to initiate criminal cases on falsification against a number of officials in connection with presentation to the Strasbourg Court of the memorandum dated to the events that happened five years ago.

"The Russian Federation has answered to the questions of the European Court for Human Rights on the complaint lodged to Strasbourg by the victims. The memorandum on behalf of Russia consists of 1,500 pages and contains falsifications," advocate Igor Trunov, a victims' representative, has stated as quoted by the "Interfax".

"In most instances, the memorandum is distorting the number of those recovered. Also, other data, including the amount of the explosive and other facts have been distorted," the lawyer has added.

The "Novaya Gazeta" writes that "at first sight, the answers of the government of the Russian Federation, as stated in the memorandum, seem traditional: the gas was harmless, the rescue operation was held at a high level, medical aid was rendered to hostages in due time and efficiently."

The newspaper believes that "it is impossible to assert that the main reasons of death of people were dehydration and stress, and only in the last turn - the gas. Even in Beslan nobody died from dehydration or stress. It is impossible to assert that the gas was harmless, but conceal its chemical formula. It is impossible to assert that none of the hostages died from a failure to provide timely medical aid, when the case files contain the results of posthumous forensic examination of 73 bodies (out of 125 perished hostages), where seven experts had unanimously signed the verdict: 73 hostages (including 6 minors) were rendered no medical aid. It is impossible to assert that only 6 hostages died in hospitals after the attack. 71 persons died. And it is all fixed in the materials of the criminal case...," etc.