FEDERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION GOVERNMENTAL PARLIAMENT UNION OF RIGHT-WING FORCES PARTY (SPS) Bldg 1, Okhotny Ryad, 103265 Moscow Telephone: 292 55 57 04 November 2002 5.9-20/31
To: V. V. Ustinov, Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
# 15a Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, 101999 Moscow
Honored Vladimir Vasilevich!
The UNION OF RIGHT-WING FORCES set up a public commission to conduct an objective and independent investigation of the events during the ending phase of the hostage rescue operation in Moscow on October 26th, 2002. Participating in this were authoritative experts in the field of forensic medicine, medical catastrophes, and anti-terrorist operations. A multitude of eyewitnesses and participants in the events were questioned, and audio and video materials at the commission’s disposal were also studied.
The main conclusion that the specified commission reached was that there was negligence on the part of persons who were responsible for organizing first aid to the victims and their transport to hospitals, as well as the general coordination of the rescue activities after the assault, which led to an increased number of deaths among the hostages.
In part, there were numerous deficiencies in the work of responsible persons and services that took part in the organization of first aid and evacuation of victims from the DK GPZ (Palace of Culture of Bearings Factory):
— the victims had an impermissibly long wait for assistance from physicians and transport to medical establishments;
— there was no leader-coordinator among the medical workers at the exit of the building;
— there was no area for temporary placement of victims for possible on the spot resuscitation by the several ambulance brigades present;
— timely, unhindered, and uninterrupted movement of ambulances, buses, and resuscitative vehicles was not organized;
— mass transport of victims took place in buuses without the required number of accompanying physicians, medics, and rescuers with knowledge of resuscitation methods;
— there was insufficient cooperation betweenn the activities of the special forces, rescuers, and ambulance personnel;
— specialists in the field of military mediccine, with special methods, skills, and knowledge at their disposal, were not brought in;
— there was none of the required organizatioon needed to allow even distribution of victims among the various treatment facilities;
— there was no information about the use of fentanyl, even after the neutralization of the terrorists, or its possible effects and the necessary measures to prevent danger to the life and heath of the victims. This led to serious consequences in the form of numerous casualties among the hostages.
Based on the enclosed information, and in accordance with Article 14 of the Federal Law: ‘The status of a member of the Federation Council and the status of a member of parliament of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation’, and Article 17 of the Federal Law: ‘The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation’, I ask that you: — perform a careful examination of the encloosed facts and reach a decision relative to opening a criminal case based on these signs of a crime, as stipulated by Articles 237 & 239 of the Criminal Codex of the Russian Federation, as well as employing of other possible measures of prosecutorial reaction.
Faction leader of the “Union of Right-Wing Forces” (SPS) B. Nemtsov |