The preliminary investigation has established that:
Yury Dmitrievich Budanov was appointed on August 31, 1998, to the post of commander of Army Unit 13206 (160th Tank Regiment). On January 31, 2000, Budanov was awarded the military rank of colonel. Ivan Ivanovich Fedorov was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel on August 12, 1997. On September 16, 1999, Fedorov was appointed to the post of chief of staff and deputy commander of Army Unit 13206 (160th Tank Regiment). On September 19, 1999, on the basis of Order of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 312/00264, Budanov and Fedorov left as part of Army Unit 13206 for duty in the North Caucasus Military District and were thereafter deployed to the Chechen Republic to engage in a counterterrorist operation. On March 26, 2000, Army Unit 13206 was temporarily deployed on the outskirts of the village of Tangi…. During dinner in the regimental officers’ mess, Budanov and Fedorov imbibed spiritous liquor to celebrate the birthday of Budanov’s daughter. At 19.00 hours that day, Budanov and Fedorov proceeded in a drunken state, together with a group of officers of the regiment and at Fedorov’s suggestion, to the intelligence company of the regiment under the command of Lieutenant R.V. Bagreev.
Having inspected the state of orderliness in the tents…, Fedorov desired to show Budanov that the intelligence company, to whose command Bagreev had been appointed on Fedorov’s recommendation, could be relied upon in a combat situation. He proposed that Budanov check their readiness for action. Budanov at first declined, but Fedorov insisted. After Fedorov had repeated his suggestion several times, Budanov gave permission to test the company’s combat readiness and proceeded with a group of officers to the Signals Center. Permission having been given, Fedorov decided, without telling Budanov, to order the use of regimental armaments to open fire on Tangi. Fedorov’s decision… was taken… without any actual necessity, since no fire was incoming…. Implementing his plan in flagrant violation of the requirement of Order of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of February 21, 2000, No. 312/2/0091, which forbids the use of intelligence subsections without thorough preparation…, Fedorov gave orders for firing positions to be taken up…. Obeying orders, Lieutenant Bagreev gave the command to the company’s personnel…. Three combat vehicles took up combat positions. After completing targeting, some members of the crews declined to carry out Fedorov’s order to open fire on a populated position. Continuing to exceed the authority of his rank, Fedorov insisted that they should open fire. Angered by the refusal of his subordinates, Fedorov began complaining to Bagreev. In a coarse manner he demanded that Bagreev should get his subordinates to open fire. Not satisfied with Bagreev’s actions, Fedorov began personally to direct the activity of the company’s personnel…. The crew opened fire… and a house… was destroyed. Having succeeded in getting the company’s personnel to carry out his unlawful order, Fedorov grabbed Bagreev by his clothing and continued to address him in a vulgar manner. Bagreev offered no resistance… and returned to the tent of his subsection.
Budanov… ordered Fedorov to stop firing and report to himself. Fedorov reported that Bagreev had deliberately failed to carry out his order to open fire. Bagreev was summoned to Budanov. Budanov… insulted him and then punched Bagreev at least twice in the face.
At the same time, Budanov and Fedorov ordered the soldiers on guardhouse duty to tie Bagreev up and place him… in a pit…. Budanov then seized Bagreev by his uniform and threw him to the ground. Fedorov booted Bagreev in the face. The soldiers on duty bound Bagreev, who was lying on the ground. Budanov, together with Fedorov, then continued to kick Bagreev….
After this beating, Bagreev was put in the pit, where he was left sitting with his hands and legs tied. Thirty minutes after the beating, Fedorov went back to the pit, jumped in, and punched him in the face at least twice…. This beating was stopped by officers of the regiment…. Several minutes later, Budanov came to the pit. On his orders, Bagreev was pulled out. Seeing that he had succeeded in untying himself, Budanov again ordered the soldiers on duty to tie him up. When this order had been carried out, Budanov and Fedorov again began beating Bagreey…. Bagreev was again put in the pit, bound hand and foot…. Fedorov jumped down and bit him on the right eyebrow. Bagreev was left… until 08.00 hours on March 27, 2000, after which, on Budanov’s orders, he was freed.
At 24.00 hours on March 26, Budanov, acting without instructions from his superiors, decided to go into Tangi personally in order to check out the possible presence, at No. 7 Zarechnaya Street, of members of an IAF. In order to drive to Tangi, Budanov ordered his subordinates to ready armored personnel carrier (APC) No. 391. Before departing, Budanov and the members of the crew armed themselves with standard-issue Kalashnikov-74 assault rifles. At this time, Budanov informed the crew of the APC, namely Sergeants Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou, that their mission was to arrest a female sniper….
Budanov arrived at Tangi before 01.00 hours…. On his orders, the APC stopped outside No. 7 Zarechnaya Street, where the Kungaeva family lived. Budanov entered the house together with Grigoriev and Li-En-Shou. In the house were Elza Visaevna Kungaeva… along with her four younger brothers and sisters. Their parents were not present. Budanov asked where the parents were. Not receiving an answer, Budanov continued to exceed his authority and in contravention of Federal Law No. 3, “The Struggle Against Terrorism,” Article 13, ordered Li-En-Shou and Grigoriev to seize Elza Visaevna Kungaeva.
Believing themselves to be acting lawfully, Grigoriev and Li-En-Shou seized Kungaeva, wrapped her in a blanket taken from the house, carried her from the house and placed her in the assault compartment of APC No. 391…. Budanov took Kungaeva back to the compound of Army Unit 13 206. On Budanov’s orders, Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou took Kungaeva, still wrapped in the blanket, to the prefabricated officers’ accommodation which Budanov occupied and placed her on the floor. Budanov then ordered them to remain in the vicinity and not to let anyone through.
Remaining alone with Kungaeva, Budanov began demanding information from her as to the whereabouts of her parents and also information about the routes by which fighters passed through Tangi. when she refused to talk, Budanov, who had no right to interrogate Kungaeva, continued demanding information. Since she refused his demands, Budanov began beating Kungaeva, punching and kicking her many times on her face and different parts of her body. Kungaeva attempted to resist, pushing him away and trying to run out of the accommodation.
As Budanov was convinced that Kungaeva was a member of an IAF and that she had been involved in the deaths of his subordinates in January 2000, he decided to kill her. For this purpose, Budanov seized Kungaeva’s clothing, threw her down on a camp bed, and, clasping the back of her neck, began to squeeze it… until he was sure she no longer showed signs of life….
Budanov’s deliberate actions caused… asphyxia…. Budanov called Grigoriev, Yegorov, and Li-En-Shou into his quarters and ordered them to remove the body and secretly bury it away from the unit. Budanov’s order was obeyed by the crew of APC No. 391. They secretly transported Kungaeva’s body and buried it on one of the forest plantations, as Grigoriev reported back to Budanov on the morning of March 27, 2000.
The accused Budanov and Fedorov, when questioned to respect of the present criminal charges, partly admitted to being guilty of the acts of which they are accused. They changed the testimony they had given at the initial stage of the investigation.