Beslan Suspect Convicted Of Terrorism

Nurpashi Kulayev (file photo) (ITAR-TASS) May 16, 2006 -- A court in southern Russia has ruled that the sole surviving suspect from the 2004 Beslan school seizure committed an act of terrorism.

The judge said the court established that Nurpashi Kulayev took part in an armed hostage taking against defenseless people.

The three-day siege in September 2004 ended with a Russian security assault and the deaths of 330 people, about half of them children

Prosecutors have called for the death penalty for Kulayev, though Russia has an official moratorium on capital punishment.

It's expected to take several days to read the whole verdict.

(AFP, Interfax, Reuters)