Ulman's case defendants could have been kidnapped

State Duma Deputy Dmitri Rogozin thinks that the three defendants in Ulman's case who failed to appear at the court session last week, could have been kidnapped, the "Interfax" reports.

"I mean that the Ulman's group defendants could have been found and brought to the territory of Chechnya. I think that in this situation, defendants in Khudyakov and Arakcheev's case should be provided with armed security," Mr. Rogozin declared to journalists in Rostov today.

"The version that the three defendants in Ulman's case have disappeared suits everybody: the victims - as recognition of the verdict of guilty; the court who can now pass its verdict in absentia; and Ulman's higher commanders," Deputy Rogozin is convinced. However, he thinks, the only losing party are the defendants themselves.

Presently, State Duma Deputy Rogozin is a public defender in the case of two officers in Interior Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation accused of murdering three Chechens early in 2003. Rogozin represents the interests of defendant Sergey Arakcheev.

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed earlier that Khudyakov and Arakcheev are accused of shooting down peaceful residents of Chechnya on January 15, 2003.