Joesoef
27-10-02, 18:01
Rights group demands siege gas inquiry
Russia said its troops used a "special substance"
Human rights group Amnesty International is pressing for an independent inquiry to reveal details of the gas used during the Russian military operation to end the Moscow theatre siege.
The Russian could have used BZ in the theatre, but perhaps in higher concentrations
Dr. Christopher Holstege, University of Virginia
Hundreds of freed hostages are still in hospital, many suffering severe after-effects - including poisoning, confusion and memory loss.
Judith Arena, Amnesty International spokeswoman, told the BBC that the group wanted to determine whether the use of gas "was the proportionate response and within the law" to end the hostage crisis.
Russia has so far declined to give any details about the gas, maintaining that none of the hostages was killed as a result of its usage.
Banned agent?
Experts have put forward a number of theories about the gas used, which the Russian authorities described only as a "special substance".
Many of the freed hostages were in poor condition
Some toxicologists say Russian troops probably used a gas containing a powerful sedative like Valium to disable and disorientate Chechen rebels before the raid.
"The thing that pops into my mind is aerosolized Valium," Dr. Christopher Holstege, medical toxicology director at the University of Virginia, told the Associated Press news agency.
Others - like former Russian Defence Ministry official Vitaly Shkilov - believe the special troops used some form of BZ gas, a powerful hallucinogenic agent developed in the 1960s and 1970s that works more slowly.
Dr Holstege also speculated that: "The Russians could have used BZ in the theatre, but perhaps in higher concentrations".
But US experts also say Russia may have used some other kind of gas, which American scientists are banned from developing.
Click here to read dramatic eyewitness accounts of the rescue operation
"It's no surprise that the Russians have that kind of stuff," said Ron Madrid, a former Marine and an expert on non-lethal weaponry at Pennsylvania State University.
"They [Russians] spent 30 years putting it together. We're preventing from doing that by treaty and executive order."
'New tragedy'
Russian defence analyst, Pavel Felhengauer, said it could have been a secret gas which had been used before in the former Soviet Union, but was not publicised.
Police are not letting relatives into hospitals
"They pumped gas into the theatre, apparently this was some kind of psychedelic compound, like LSD," he told the BBC.
Mr Felhengauer said it took the special forces over an hour to get all the hostages out of the building, and that the antidote was used too late to prevent the after-effects.
He also did not rule out that the special forces - who administered the antidote - simply did not have enough of the preparation.
"The hostages continue to die... New tragedy is developing, after we thought the tragedy was over," he said.
'Calmative' agents
Several countries, including the United States, have developed non-lethal incapacitating agents which can induce choking, nausea or blurry vision.
The US and British military have reportedly discussed developing such agents, that would incapacitate or repel people.
The efforts intensified in the 1990s after US peacekeeping troops were confronted by hostile crowds in countries like Somalia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The former Soviet Union reportedly used similar agents during its military campaign in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
But experts say it is unclear whether such weapons would violate the convention banning the use of chemical weapons.
bron BBC
Russia said its troops used a "special substance"
Human rights group Amnesty International is pressing for an independent inquiry to reveal details of the gas used during the Russian military operation to end the Moscow theatre siege.
The Russian could have used BZ in the theatre, but perhaps in higher concentrations
Dr. Christopher Holstege, University of Virginia
Hundreds of freed hostages are still in hospital, many suffering severe after-effects - including poisoning, confusion and memory loss.
Judith Arena, Amnesty International spokeswoman, told the BBC that the group wanted to determine whether the use of gas "was the proportionate response and within the law" to end the hostage crisis.
Russia has so far declined to give any details about the gas, maintaining that none of the hostages was killed as a result of its usage.
Banned agent?
Experts have put forward a number of theories about the gas used, which the Russian authorities described only as a "special substance".
Many of the freed hostages were in poor condition
Some toxicologists say Russian troops probably used a gas containing a powerful sedative like Valium to disable and disorientate Chechen rebels before the raid.
"The thing that pops into my mind is aerosolized Valium," Dr. Christopher Holstege, medical toxicology director at the University of Virginia, told the Associated Press news agency.
Others - like former Russian Defence Ministry official Vitaly Shkilov - believe the special troops used some form of BZ gas, a powerful hallucinogenic agent developed in the 1960s and 1970s that works more slowly.
Dr Holstege also speculated that: "The Russians could have used BZ in the theatre, but perhaps in higher concentrations".
But US experts also say Russia may have used some other kind of gas, which American scientists are banned from developing.
Click here to read dramatic eyewitness accounts of the rescue operation
"It's no surprise that the Russians have that kind of stuff," said Ron Madrid, a former Marine and an expert on non-lethal weaponry at Pennsylvania State University.
"They [Russians] spent 30 years putting it together. We're preventing from doing that by treaty and executive order."
'New tragedy'
Russian defence analyst, Pavel Felhengauer, said it could have been a secret gas which had been used before in the former Soviet Union, but was not publicised.
Police are not letting relatives into hospitals
"They pumped gas into the theatre, apparently this was some kind of psychedelic compound, like LSD," he told the BBC.
Mr Felhengauer said it took the special forces over an hour to get all the hostages out of the building, and that the antidote was used too late to prevent the after-effects.
He also did not rule out that the special forces - who administered the antidote - simply did not have enough of the preparation.
"The hostages continue to die... New tragedy is developing, after we thought the tragedy was over," he said.
'Calmative' agents
Several countries, including the United States, have developed non-lethal incapacitating agents which can induce choking, nausea or blurry vision.
The US and British military have reportedly discussed developing such agents, that would incapacitate or repel people.
The efforts intensified in the 1990s after US peacekeeping troops were confronted by hostile crowds in countries like Somalia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The former Soviet Union reportedly used similar agents during its military campaign in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
But experts say it is unclear whether such weapons would violate the convention banning the use of chemical weapons.
bron BBC