The case has been remitted for further inquiry to the North Caucasian regional court martial while the preliminary hearings was on.
The North Caucasian regional court martial acquitted Senior Lieutenant Evgeni Khudyakov and Junior Lieutenant Sergei Arakcheyev, June 29. The sentence followed a jury verdict of "not guilty".
As their criminal file has it, Khudyakov and Arakcheyev opened fire on a Kamaz lorry in Chechnya, January 15, 2003. As the lorry stopped, they dragged the driver and two passengers out of the vehicle and shot them dead. The officers were also guilty of unlawfully seizing and holding another Chechen resident.
Khudyakov and Arakcheyev were accused of murder, Clause 105 of the Criminal Code, and abuse of office, Clause 286.
