‘Putin the Executioner’: Mothers of kids killed in Beslan arrested for protest action

Mothers of kids killed in the Beslan massacre in 2004 have been fined and sentenced to community service for protesting in the gym of School Nr 1 in Beslan (North Ossetia) on September 1, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reports.

The participants of the action – Svetlana Margiyeva, Ella Kesayeva and Emiliya Bzarova – will have to do 20 hours of community service. In 2004, they witnessed a terrible tragedy of the Beslan schoof siege.

“Zemfira Tsirikhova (she was taken hostage together with sons Amiran and Ashan, the latter died), did not take part in the action, but at the time of arrest she was next to Emma. She was also sentenced to community service for neing in the company of protesters. Emma Betrozava and Zhanna Tsirikhova were 20,000 Russian rubles fined,” the paper says.

On September 1, the beginning of the academic year, five women came to the gym of School Nr 1 where a civil year-mind of the killed in the terrorist attack was being held. They were wearing T-shirts with the words ‘Putin Is The Executioner of Beslan’. According to the Novaya Gazeta, two protocols were drawn upon each participant – for taking part in an unsanctioned action and resisting the police. The paper published the photos of bruises the women suffered during the arrest.

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”276757″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]Ella Kesayeva and Zhanna Tsirikhova in court

The Beslan massacre started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days, involved the capture of over 1,100 people as hostages (including 777 children). A group of armed Islamic groups occupied School Nr 1 in the town of Beslan, North (an authonomous republic of the Russian Federation). The hostage-takers were sent by the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who demanded recognition of the independence of Chechnya, and Russians’ withdrawal from there. On the third day of the standoff, Russian security forces stormed the building with the use of tanks, incendiary rocketsand other heavy weapons. At least 330 hostages were killed, including 186 children,  with a significant number of people injured and reported missing.

Photo:Novaya Gazeta

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