Chechen rebel leader accuses Russia of downing Armenian plane

Chechen rebel leader accuses Russia of downing Armenian plane

Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency website
2 Jun 06

A video recording sent to the press service of the president of the
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev, says that the
Armenian passenger plane of the ArmAvia air company, which crashed
near Sochi on 3 May, was actually shot down by Russian air defence
systems.

Sadulayev said: “We have information that the Armenian plane was shot
down by the Russian authorities when the link with the plane was
lost. They thought that someone had hijacked the plane and that there
were mojahedin on board.”

Sadulayev stressed that this is information from the Chechen special
services that needs cross-checking.

The Chechen president believes that the technical capabilities of
Western countries that monitor air space, including the territory of
Russia, could be used to establish the real causes of the plane crash
that killed more than 100 people.

“I think that Western countries and Europe can help because they have
tracking systems and other capabilities,” Sadulayev said, noting that
this should be done to find out the truth and expose the crimes of the
Russian authorities.

According to the official theory, the plane crashed due to bad weather
conditions.

[Passage omitted: background to the crash]