Russia detains Beslan mothers who blamed Putin for school tragedy

PanARMENIAN.Net - A group of women who blamed President Vladimir Putin for Russia's Beslan school massacre were detained during a memorial ceremony in the North Ossetian town along with two journalists who filmed their brief protest, RFE/RL reports.

The protest was on September 1 -- the 12th anniversary of the 2004 hostage tragedy at Beslan's School No. 1 that left 334 people dead, including 186 schoolchildren.

As a school bell rang near the ruins of the school on September 1, five Beslan mothers whose children died at the school took off their jackets to reveal T-shirts blaming Putin for the deaths.

Russian police accused the women of violating a law against unauthorized protests. It was not immediately clear if any charges were filed against them.

Police also detained two journalists who covered the event -- Novaya Gazeta reporter Yelena Kostyuchenko and a correspondent for the Takiye Dela online news site, Diana Khachatrian.

It was not clear whether Kostyuchenko and Khachatrian would face charges.

Armed Islamic militants, mostly from Russia's Chechnya region, stormed into the Beslan school on September 1, 2004 -- taking about 1,200 children, parents, and teachers hostage.

Most victims were killed when Russian security forces used armored vehicles in an attempt to rescue hostages gathered in a gym the militants had booby-trapped with explosives.