Media voice anger after Beslan verdict

There is a sense of anger and frustration in the Russian media following the sentencing of Beslan attacker Nur-Pashi Kulayev to life imprisonment.

The press is quick to criticise the authorities, saying that many questions surrounding the attack have been left unanswered.

Reports on the Russian TV stations reflect the emotional scenes at the court and divisions over whether Kulayev received the right sentence.

'Emptiness'

Komsomolskaya Pravda says that in denying the charges Kulayev showed he was "not only a terrorist but a coward".

"Kulayev knew what he was doing," the paper says. "It's stupid to sign up to a gang of terrorists and think you won't be splattered with blood."

The paper also reports the "fatigue, emptiness and loneliness" experienced by the mother of one of the victims.

The authorities understood that the verdict and sentence... could inflame the situation Kommersant

She tells the paper that the issue is not about whether Kulayev should receive the death penalty or not, but rather about "making him suffer" for what he did.

An article in Kommersant sees worry on the part of the authorities that the summing up in court could prove unsatisfactory to the Beslan bereaved and pour oil on the fire of an already emotionally charged situation.

It suggests that the whole proceedings were carefully stage-managed in order to keep the lid on any possible protests.

"The authorities understood that the verdict and sentence - especially the absence of the judge's view on the part played by the security forces in Beslan - could inflame the situation," it says.

Questions

Other papers say there are still unanswered questions surrounding the Beslan attack and believe that the verdict is far from the end of the matter.

"Many questions remain," says an article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"We still don't know how the terrorists organised and carried out such a complex and major operation," it says.

"Who is responsible for the lack of coordination in freeing the hostages and killing the terrorists?" it questions.

Kulayev is not a human being, he deserves to rot in prison Regina Kusayeva

An article in the daily Trud expresses frustration at the authorities for their delay in releasing reports on the tragedy.

"The two official commissions have regularly promised to issue intermediate findings," it says.

"And both regularly plead changing circumstances.

Russian TV stations reflect divided opinions over whether Kulayev should have received the death sentence.

"Kulayev is not a human being, he deserves to rot in prison," Regina Kusayeva - described on TV as a woman who was held hostage with her three-year-old son during the siege - told a Russian Channel One TV correspondent at the court.

"The reason I don't want the death sentence is that there is hope that at some time he might say something, speak the truth," she said.

Russian NTVMir, however, reports that "many Russians believe an exception could have been made in the case of Kulayev despite the moratorium on the death penalty".

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.