Victim of Dubrovka terror act achieves compensation of moral harm

The court has partially satisfied the claim of Igor Zakharov, who was held hostage by terrorists in the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre and claimed moral harm compensation from authorities.

According to court materials, Zakharov had earlier received monetary compensation as a terror act victim, but decided to also seek moral harm compensation. He filed his first claim back in 2022. This claim was dismissed due to Zakharov's failure to appear at the hearing.

A new claim with the same grounds was filed in court in September 2024; and six hearings were held on the case. The court has partially satisfied the claim, taking into account the amount of compensation earlier paid to Zakharov. "According to the ruling, the Moscow finance department will be in charge for paying the compensation," the report says.

The court "could not specify the compensation amount"; and the report didn’t give the name of the court.

According to the official portal of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction, Igor Zakharov's claim against the Moscow Department of Finance and the Russian Ministry of Finance was considered by the Tverskoi District Court of Moscow.

The final wording of the court ruling was adopted on May 31, says the text of the anonymized copy of the reasoned ruling posted in the website.

"To collect in favour of Igor Nikolaevich Zakharov from the Finance Department address (as in the document, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") at the expense of the Treasury address (as in the document, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") as compensation for the suffered moral harm a monetary sum in the amount of the sum (as in the document, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"). The rest of the claim is rejected," the document says.

It also states that Zakharov had only one claim – to collect in his favour, as a victim of a terror act, from the defendants the compensation for moral harm in a certain monetary sum.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 6, 2025 at 06:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.