- MOSCOW (Reuters) - Some of
the hostages who survived last month's bloody theater siege in Moscow are
suing the city authorities for damages, their lawyer said Thursday.
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- City authorities say the suits are groundless.
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- Five people, including two relatives of the victims,
have filed lawsuits at a Moscow court seeking more than $4 million in damages,
lawyer Igor Trunov told Interfax news agency.
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- A total of 129 hostages out of more than 800 died in
October when Russian forces stormed the theater after three days to end
a stand-off with armed Chechen rebels. Most died from the effects of a
special narcotic gas used to knock out the rebels.
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- Moscow authorities said earlier this week the lawsuits
could not be accepted as that would make the city council guilty of not
having been able to prevent the theater seizure.
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- The first hearings are scheduled for Dec. 3.
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- Earlier, Moscow's city council promised to pay about
$5,000 to each of the victims' relatives and half that amount to those
who survived the siege.
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