31 October 2002 00:00
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY YURI SHEVCHENKO, MINISTER OF HEALTH OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, ALEXANDER YAKOVENKO, THE OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN OF RUSSIA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND MIKHAIL AVDYUKHOV, THE MOSCOW PROSECUTOR, AT THE HEALTH MINISTRY REGARDING THE HOSTAGE-FREEING OPERATION IN MOSCOW
2228-30-10-2002
Yuri Shevchenko: Good evening. Today I can tell you my point of view concerning the use of special means in the course of the operation to free the hostages. I officially declare: no chemical substances that could fall within the international chemical weapons convention were used in the course of the special operation. To neutralize the terrorists a chemical compound based on phentanyl derivatives was used. By the way, my foreign colleagues from Switzerland and Germany also drew the same conclusions thanks to their high professionalism and qualification, which also proves me right. Such preparations belong to the category of drugs able to have a quick anesthetizing effect. They are being widely used in medical practice and cannot, by themselves, cause a lethal outcome. Russian specialists are completely sure about this.
In this situation, however, the anesthetic was applied to people whose body, from the medical point of view, was in critical condition as a result of the action of a set of very aggressive factors: hypoxia, extreme oxygen starvation or shortage, severe dehydration, immobility for 60 hours, hunger, exacerbation of chronic diseases and, of course, a heavy psychogenic stress.
Charges against the doctors have been and continue to be heard that they were not ready for rendering assistance in these extraordinary conditions because they didn't know about the use of the anesthetic. To this I can say, the specialists had been warned, including myself. And although the operation bore a forced, urgent character, more than a thousand doses of the antidote had been prepared and were used. You could see that on television. We will regularly be informing society of the former hostages' state of health.
Alexander Yakovenko: Adding to what was said, I would like to declare that the possession of the means of which the Minister of Health spoke, as well as their use in the course of the operation to free the hostages, corresponds fully with the international obligations which Russia has assumed under the Chemical Weapons Convention and with Russian law.
Mikhail Avdyukhov: I want to report and repeat that with regard to the offense the prosecutor's office has instituted criminal proceedings under Articles 205 and 246 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - terrorism and hostage-taking. All the circumstances of this grave crime and its consequences will be carefully investigated. In this probe legal expertises have been ordered and are being carried out: bullet tracing, ballistic, explosive device investigations and, of course, forensic medical examinations. With respect to each hostage's death the forensic medical examination is being carried out under the control of the prosecutor's office. Forensic medical expert opinions will be put at the core of procedural decisions in the criminal case. The results of the probe, whatever they may be, will, of course, be brought to the notice of the concerned persons and of the public; we do not intend to conceal anything.
Question: Did we understand you correctly that the deaths of those affected by this gas did not set in as a result of the action of the gas itself, but as a result of the factors you mentioned?
Yuri Shevchenko: You understood correctly, soon I will speak on the subject at length.
Question: What amount of explosives were in the hall after all?
Mikhail Avdyukhov: A horrifying amount of explosives was discovered.
___________________________________________________________
© Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
|
RUSSIA IN FACTS