Russian Supreme Court annuls soldiers' acquittal over Chechen civilians murdering

The Russian Supreme Court annulled a jury's verdict acquitting four members of a military intelligence unit who were charged with killing six civilians in Chechnya and ordered a retrial.

The new trial will be held in a military court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Supreme Court spokesman Pavel Odintsov said.

A jury acquitted Capt. Eduard Ulman and three subordinates of murder charges in May in a retrial following their initial acquittal.

The defendants, accused of killing six civilians who were riding in a truck that passed their position in 2002, claimed they were acting on superiors' orders, the AP reports.