Russian authorities sued for £37m over Chechen hostage debacle

An unprecedented blizzard of lawsuits was launched against the Russian authorities yesterday over a botched rescue operation that killed 129 hostages held by terrorists in a theatre in Moscow last year.

Lawyers for survivors and the families of those who died are asking for a total of £37m in compensation. They say they will present a hitherto secret videotape taken by Chechen attackers and other fresh evidence to show that the victims suffered horribly, particularly from the effects of a powerful knockout gas deployed by special services when they stormed the theatre in October.

"The state must be held to account," said Igor Trunov, lawyer for the plaintiffs in 61 separate suits, which began to be heard at Tverskoi District Court in Moscow yesterday. "There must be adequate compensation, particularly for those citizens whose ability to work has been harmed or those who left behind young dependants."

Under Russia's 1998 anti-terrorism law it is forbidden to sue the security forces, and regional authorities are liable for all damages in terrorist cases. But Moscow's city government has balked at the huge compensation being demanded, £600,000 per victim, in this case.

Moscow has already paid 100,000 roubles (£2,000) to the family of each dead hostage, which is in line with many other such settlements in Russia. Victims of a wave of terrorist apartment bombings in 1999 received 20,000 roubles each, and families of those who died in a car bombing outside a Moscow McDonald's restaurant last year were given 40,000 roubles each. But Mr Trunov says: "It's not up to the Moscow government how much to pay. It's up to the court."

The lawsuit is unprecedented in Russia, where citizens are accustomed to accepting the actions of their state without question.

The Moscow government says that if it loses the case it will file a countersuit demanding that the Kremlin launch a full investigation into the actions of the security forces during the three-day siege, in which all 41 Chechen hostage-takers were killed.

Oleg Tolkachev, the deputy mayor, said: "The city did everything it could do, and paid full compensation to the victims. We can only hope that the court will make a fair and objective decision, and that Moscow will not be bankrupted as a result of this action."

The security services are alleged to have subjected the 800 hostages to huge overdoses of knockout gas when they stormed the theatre, failed to provide most with prompt medical treatment and refused to tell doctors what gas had been used.

The exact nature of the knockout agent has still not been made public.

In November the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, voted down a motion by liberal deputies to launch a full independent investigation into the affair.

During the first day of court hearings lawyers for the plaintiffs failed in a bid to transfer the case to a higher court. Their demand that Judge Maria Gorbacheva be removed, on the basis that her salary is paid by the Moscow government, was also rejected.

After barring journalists from the courtroom, saying national security was at stake, Ms Gorbacheva relented and opened future sessions of the trial to the press.

Mr Trunov says many more of the siege survivors and bereaved families are expected to file lawsuits in the coming weeks.