Nord Ost: the Battle Continues

Total sum of compensations claimed by former Nord-Ost hostages makes up 7.5 million dollars. And this is just the beginning.
Three people who have suffered as a result of the terrorist attack in the Moscow theater on October 23 claim compensation at the rate of 1 million dollars. This information was provided by an attorney of the Nord Ost victims, Igor Trunov. In his words, Larisa Frolova, a Moscow citizen whose son and daughter-in-law were killed as a result of the terrorist act in the Moscow theater, claims a 1 million dollar compensation. Now, the woman has to take care of her two grandchildren, who lost their parents.

The attorney says that former hostages Nikolay Lyubimov and Anna Bessonova (the woman lost her husband and now has to take care of two children) also expect to receive such a compensation.

Igor Trunov says that he is going to register the claims in the Tverskoy municipal court of Moscow, where claims of five more victims have already been registered. Two of the claims were filed by Alexandra Ryabtseva, 19, and her father. The girl was seriously injured; now she may become an invalid. Each of the plaintiffs estimates the moral and material damage at the rate of 1 million dollars. Two more claims were registered by pensioners Pyotr Sidorenko and Viktor Bondarenko, who had lost their sons, the only bread-winners of the families. Svetlana Generalova, who had lost her husband, also filed a claim.

The reaction of the Moscow authorities to the claims could be predicted from the very beginning: the Moscow city administration considers the claims for damage compensation to Nord Ost victims “unreasonable and unfair.” The information was provided by press-secretary of the Moscow mayor, Sergey Tsoi. He cannot understand why the Tverskoy court accepted the claims at all. In his words, “accepting of the claims is equal to recognition of the guilt for the terrorist act committed in the Moscow theatre. And this is something with which the Moscow government cannot agree to.” The press-secretary of the Moscow mayor added that “the Chechnya problem and its consequences are in no way connected with the jurisdiction of the Moscow authorities”; the settlement of the problem connected with compensations to former hostages “must be done on a federal level.”

A conclusion suggests itself: the Moscow city administration is trying to shift the responsibility for the Nord Ost hostage taking onto the federal authorities on the basis of paragraph #17 of the law “On the struggle against terrorism,” saying that the RF subject on which territory an act of terrorism was committed is responsible for moral and material damage caused by the accident. In situations of this kind, foreign citizens are recommended to file claims against the RF Government.

Today, three more people who suffered during the hostage taking in the Moscow theater are going to register their claims for compensations. So, the number of former hostages and their relatives who registered claims for compensation will make up eight people; the total sum of claimed compensations will be 7.5 million dollars. According to attorney of the Nord Ost victims, Igor Trunov, the Tverskoy court of Moscow plans to start consideration of the claims on December 3.

As we already know from court practice in Russia, the situation with the claims for compensations to former hostages may swing to any of the sides: even if the court declares the claims valid, the Moscow authorities may immediately appeal against the court decision, etc. However, no claims have been filed yet by foreigners who suffered in the hostage taking. However, if they do, the situation will have to be settled on the federal level already.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: https://www.pravda.ru/sport/8050-nordost/

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