MOSCOW, December 13 (RAPSI) – The North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced Ramzan Belyalov and Magomed Mazdayev to 15 and 13 years in a penal colony for attack and taking hostages in Russian town of Budyonnovsk in 1995, the Investigative Committee’s press-service stated on Wednesday.
The court established that in June 1995 residents of the Chechen Republic Belyalov and Mazdayev joined a gang under the leadership of notorious warlord Shamil Basayev. Later, they took part in series of grave and especially grave crimes.
On June 14, 1995, a group of at least 160 gunmen led by Basayev attacked Budyonnovsk, holding 1,586 people hostage at a local hospital. The attack left 129 persons dead and 317 injured while the property damage was estimated at 95.6 billion rubles (about $1.6 billion at current exchange rate).
Mazdayev was arrested in the Volgograd Region in December 2014, and Belyalov was arrested in Chechnya in June 2015.
Overall, 28 members of the gang have been sentenced to terms varying from 11 to 15 years in prison. Proceedings against five members, including Basayev, were cancelled due to their death. The federal and international wanted list includes 29 persons more.