MOSCOW, April 3 - RAPSI. The Moscow City Court has upheld a lower court ruling on the legitimacy of the investigation authorities' refusal to open a case against the officials who managed the storming of the Dubrovka Theater in 2002, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Wednesday.

The court has thus rejected the appeal against the Lefortovsky District Court ruling filed by lawyer Igor Trunov, who represents the Dubrovka victims' families.

The Lefortovsky Court dismissed the complaint filed against the investigating officer who refused to initiate a criminal case against the officials in charge of the hostage release operation at the theater sieged by terrorists in 2002.

Trunov wrote in the complaint that the officer's refusal to open a case over the matter was a violation of the law.

The court stated that there were no grounds for considering the officer's actions illegitimate as he did not violate any provisions of the Criminal Code. The investigator explained his refusal by the fact that the officials' actions had been analyzed and evaluated back in 2002, following a request by State Duma Deputy Boris Nemtsov.

In 2005, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court also rejected the Dubrovka victims' complaint over inaction on the part of the Moscow Healthcare Department.

In October 2002, a group of 40 terrorists held an audience of over 900 people hostage at the Dubrovka Theater. After three days of negotiations, security forces released an undisclosed gas into the building to sedate the terrorists, and then stormed the building. The gas is thought to have caused the deaths of 130 hostages.