Russian Colonel Jailed for Rape and Murder

26/07/2003| IslamWeb

A Russian officer has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for the murder of a Chechen woman. Colonel Yuri Budanov admitted abducting, raping and strangling 18-year-old Elza Kungayeva. He abducted her from her home in the tiny village of Tangi-chu and taken to a military camp where the offence was committed. Budanov was arrested in March 2000. The case has dragged on for three years amid doubts about Budanov's sanity. Last year he was found insane by the court and referred for compulsory psychiatric treatment. However in February, the Supreme Court overturned the decision and ordered a re-trial. He was also stripped of his military rank and the Order of Courage he won in the breakaway region. The case is being seen as a test of Russia's determination to crack down on human right abuses in war-scarred Chechnya. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Tow policemen escort Russian Colonel Yuri Budanov into the court building at Rostov-on-Don. (AFP/File/Alexander Blotnitsky)