Chechen Who Killed 127 Russians Jailed

A Chechen man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 127 Russian soldiers travelling in a helicopter which he shot down with a shoulder-fired missile as it prepared to land in the Chechen capital, Grozny.

Doku Dzhantemirov, 27, from Grozny,was found guilty of murder, terrorism, banditry, attacks on soldiers and other charges, Judge Yuri Minko said.

The incident in August 2002, in which only 20 of the helicopter's 147 passengers survived, was the worst aviation disaster suffered by the Russian armed forces

It was a worse single loss of life than the Kursk submarine tragedy two years previously, in which 118 sailors died.

Dzhantemirov videotaped the attack, and his missile launcher was found by the authorities in an abandoned building near the site of the crash.

The Mi-26 helicopter, designed to carry 87 people, was heavily overloaded and there were intense recriminations in the armed forces.

President Vladimir Putin criticised the defence ministry.

The officer responsible for the helicopter, Colonel Anatoly Kudyakov, was convicted of negligence and violating flight rules.

The passenger cabin of the helicopter flooded with fuel and its buckled doors could not be opened when it crash-landed.

Dzhantemirov was ordered to pay 100,000 rubles (about £2,000) in compensation to victims relatives, many of whom were in the court.