Police Detain Beslan Mothers Who Blamed Putin For School Tragedy - Radio Free Europe

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Police Detain Beslan Mothers Who Blamed Putin For School Tragedy

A group of women who blamed President Vladimir Putin for Russia's Beslan school massacre were detained during a memorial ceremony in the North Ossetian town along with two journalists who filmed their brief protest.

The protest was on September 1 -- the 12th anniversary of the 2004 hostage tragedy at Beslan's School No. 1 that left 334 people dead, including 186 schoolchildren.

As a school bell rang near the ruins of the school on September 1, five Beslan mothers whose children died at the school took off their jackets to reveal T-shirts blaming Putin for the deaths.

Russian police accused the women of violating a law against unauthorized protests. It was not immediately clear if any charges were filed against them.
 
Police also detained two journalists who covered the event -- Novaya Gazeta reporter Yelena Kostyuchenko and a correspondent for the Takiye Dela online news site, Diana Khachatrian.

It also was not clear whether Kostyuchenko and Khachatrian would face charges.

Read More At: http://www.rferl.org/content/beslan-mothers-putin-blamed-tragedy/27959692.html