MOSCOW, February 27 (RAPSI) – Defense of 95 victims of the terror act in Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow turned to the European Court of Human Rights, (ECHR) joining the first group of hostages whose complaints against human rights violation have been already considered, the law firm Trunov, Aivar and Partners said on its website.

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 subdue the terrorists, and then stormed the building. The gas is thought to have caused the deaths of 130 hostages.

On December 20, 2011, The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered to recover from 9,000 to 66,000 euro from the Russian authorities in favor of 64 people who suffered from the terror act. The ECHR decided that Russia violated article 2 (right for life) and article 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention for Human Rights.

According to lawyer Igor Trunov, the third group of victims will also file similar complaints later. Earlier, Trunov has lodged a complaint with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe against the Russian authorities' acts connected with non-compliance with the court order to make a narrow inquiry into the case.

Moreover, last February, the Lefortovsky District Court dismissed the complaint filed by Trunov against the investigating officer who refused to initiate a criminal case against the officials in charge of the hostage release operation at the theater. This decision was upheld by the Moscow City Court on April 3, 2013.

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.