Russian war criminal shot dead

A Russian army colonel convicted of murdering a Chechen teenager has been killed in a daylight shooting in Moscow.

Yuri Budanov was Russia’s only convicted war criminal and was sentenced to 10 years in jail for kidnapping and murdering the 18 year-old in 2000 but he was released on parole in 2009, sparking protests in Chechnya.

Given the persistent allegations of torture and human rights abuses by Russian troops against Chechens his case came to symbolise Russia’s apparent indifference to some of the worst actions in the wars.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands reports.