CASE OF HOUSE EXPLOSION IN BUINAKSK: DEFENDANTS PLEAD NOT GUILTY








MAKHACHKALA, March 12, 2001. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Dekabr Beibutov/. During the lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Dagestan /a republic within Russia/ on the explosion of an apartment house in Buinaksk, the defendants pleaded not guilty in their last word. Buinaksk is a town in the central part of the republic. 


	On Monday a final hearing was held on the case of the September 4, 1999 explosion of an apartment house in Buinaksk, which left 58 people dead and over 100 injured.


	At the conference the last word was granted to Isa and Zainutdin Zainutdinov /father and son/ and Makhach Abdusamedov. They did not confess to the crime adding that they had given the testimony under the pressure of the investigative group. 


	Earlier, this manner was characteristic of Alisultan Salikhov, Abdul Kadyrov, and Magomed Magomedov. In their last word on March 6 they claimed not to have participated in the terrorist act. 


	During the previous debates the public prosecutor demanded that Zainutdinov senior and Alisultan Salikhov be executed and the other defendants sentenced to 20-25 years of hard labour. 


	The court took a break for drafting and announcing the sentence to become known on March 19.