A defendant in the case of his involvement in the attack on Pskov paratroopers in Chechnya received a lengthy prison sentence
The Southern District Military Court found Islam Batsiev, a native of Dagestan, guilty of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer (Article 317 of the Russian Criminal Code) for participating in the attack on Pskov paratroopers as part of Basayev and Khattab's field detachment. Batsiev was sentenced to 21 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
This is not the first time citizens have been accused of involvement in the attack on Pskov paratroopers in 2000. Previously, 63-year-old Alavdi Batykayev, a native of Chechnya, was also charged in this case and denied his guilt.
As human rights activists from Memorial have previously noted, "standard" testimony from relatives of Russian military personnel is presented as witnesses in virtually all criminal cases brought against Chechen natives. The witnesses often copied the official version.
