Moscow says European court’s ruling is not acceptable

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Russian government’s handling of the siege of a school in Beslan, in the North Ossetia region, had serious failings. The three-day siege in September 2004 ended in the death of 330 people, including 184 children. Russia has said the court’s ruling is not acceptable and that it will appeal the decision.

In September 2004, militants demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya, stormed a school, holding some 1,100 people, including close to 800 children, hostage in the school’s gymnasium which they rigged with explosives. The siege ended on the third day, with two explosions in the gymnasium, which had blasted a hole in the wall through which hostages had tried to escape.

Heavy weaponry

Militants began firing on them and a gun battle ensued, as security forces stormed the school with heavy weaponry, including rocket launchers. By the time the battle ended, hundreds had died.

Dismayed by a lack of progress in the probes, more than 400 of those affected by the tragedy approached the Strasbourg, France-based court.

The judgement said the Russian government had knowledge that a terrorist attack on an educational institution was to take place in the region but failed to take adequate steps to prevent it. The court held, by five votes to two, that the Russian government had violated Article 2 (the Right to Life) of the Convention in its planning and use of lethal force to tackle the hostage crisis.