WRITTEN QUESTION E-3325/02 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Council. Official death toll in the Moscow hostage crisis.
Date: 2002-11-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union, Russia, cooperation policy, homicide, illegal restraint, summit meeting, terrorism

C 155 E/112

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.7.2003

principles and human rights is an integral part of the Stabilisation and Association Process and it is
regularly raised in the dialogue between the EU and Albania. It will also prominently figure in the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement which the Commission will negotiate with Albania based on the
mandate authorised by the Council on 21 October 2002.

(2003/C 155 E/120)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3209/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(12 November 2002)

Subject: Massacre in Russia

What is the Council’s position and what measures has it taken vis-à-vis the criminal and irresponsible
action of President Putin and the Russian Government, which caused the deaths not only of the Chechen
rebels responsible for the hostage-taking but also of hundreds of the hostages themselves?

(2003/C 155 E/121)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3325/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Council

(25 November 2002)

Subject: Official death toll in the Moscow hostage crisis

According to the figures provided by the Moscow city prosecutor on 7 November 2002, 128 people (120
Russians and eight foreigners) died in the hostage crisis which unfolded at the theatre in Melnikova Street
between 23 and 26 October 2002. Five of these victims, all Russians, had died from gunshot wounds,
implying that 123 people had died as a result of inhaling the gas used in the storming of the theatre.
These latest figures from the Russian authorities also indicated that all the hostage-takers (19 women and
22 men) had been killed in the attack. The same authorities had previously stated that ‘two terrorists’ had
been taken prisoner.

How does the Council view the fact that the Russian authorities, who had originally claimed to have
captured the two terrorists, now say that all the terrorists died in the attack? Has the Council already
requested a list of the names of all those who died in the hostage crisis, including the names of the
terrorists, and the cause of each person’s death? More generally, has the Council drawn any conclusions
from the latest figures provided by the Russian authorities and the way that the antiterrorist operation was
conducted, and if so what conclusions has it reached?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3209/02 and E-3325/02

(20 February 2003)

The holding in Moscow of over 700 hostages, from 23 to 26 October 2002, was a source of grave
concern in the EU, as it was in Russia. The European Council, on 24/25 October 2002, expressed its
position on this set of events in the declaration issued on 25 October and contained in Annex III of the
related Conclusions of the Presidency.

On the occasion of the EU-Russia summit held in Brussels, on 11 November 2002, the European Union
and Russia made a joint statement on the fight against terrorism, in which they declared to stand united in
this fight with due regard for the rule of law, for democratic principles and for the territorial integrity of
States. On the basis of common commitments they drew common aims with a view to developing their
strategic partnership in this respect, including the definition of EU-Russia co-operation in the fight against
terrorism.