Soldiers killed 'under orders'
2005-05-19 15:30
Moscow - Four Russian special forces officers were acquitted on Thursday of murdering six Chechen civilians in a trial that human rights activists describe as a test case for Russia's readiness to admit responsibility for war crimes in Chechnya.
The jury at the North Caucasus District military court, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, accepted the soldiers' argument that they were acting under orders when their unit in January 2002 shot the six civilians, including a pregnant mother of seven.
It was the second trial for the men from the elite Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). An earlier not-guilty verdict by a jury at the same court last year was overturned on a technicality by the Supreme Court.
The case has been unusual from the start because none of the men deny their role in the massacre, only their responsibility.
- AFP