Chechen kidnappers trial to resume month later

In a month, the court of Russia's southern Stavropol region will assemble again to hear the case of the two brother kidnappers Ramazan Ibragimov and Lom-Ali Ibragimov, accused of taking people hostage for ransom, Vikenti Guz who is leading the trial said in court Tuesday. He went on to announce the court's decision to extend the convicts' term of arrest until September 30, 2002.

Guz named the reason for this lengthy postponement as a request from the defending side. Their lawyers are said to need more time for studying materials pertaining to the case, before the debates begin.

The process, dragging as it is because victims and witnesses failed to attend hearings so often, is now burdened with another month's delay. The brothers Ibragimov are facing charges for fighting in illegal bandit formations in Chechnya, as well as for kidnapping people for ransom. The victims were covertly transported from various parts of the country, including Moscow, to Chechnya, and kept in dungeons.