FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Glen E. Howard, +1 202.364.2466

Washington, DC -- The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) today published a major investigative report concerning the September 2004 terrorist attacks in Beslan, Russia. Authored by Hoover Institution expert and former "Chechnya Weekly" editor John Dunlop, the study examines the seige at Beslan Primary School No. 1, which resulted in the deaths of 330 people, including 186 children.

"John Dunlop's report is the first major examination of the Beslan crisis in the United States," noted ACPC Executive Director Glen E. Howard, "With the official Russian investigations still underway, it gives Americans a rare glimpse into the events that led to this terribly tragedy."

Dunlop's report draws on official Russian sources, including testimony from the trial of Ingush terrorist suspect Nur-Pasha Kulev. It also reports findings from three independent Russian commissions, including a study prepared by the Mothers of Beslan, a group representing mothers who lost children in the siege.

"Dunlop's conclusions are both startling and significant," noted Howard, "Many of the terrorists were not Chechens. Many of the casualties resulted from poor Russian planning. These facts challenge the Kremlin's account of this terrible event."

Published in conjunction with a major conference on the North Caucasus, the report, entitled "Beslan: Russia's 9/11?" is available from the ACPC website: www.peaceinchechnya.org. The study is a joint product of ACPC and the Jamestown Foundation.

Founded in 1999, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya is a bipartisan coalition of distinguished Americans dedicated to promoting the peaceful resolution of the Russo-Chechen war.