Remembering Beslan
Women mourn inside the Beslan school gymnasium on Sept. 1, 2009 while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2004 terrorist hostage takeover that took the lives of over 330 people, many of them children.
The school was stormed by Chechen rebel gunmen on the morning of Sept. 1, 2004.
Beslan's grim anniversary
A man speaks as Russian military cadets attend a memorial ceremony for those who died in the 2004 Beslan terrorist tragedy, in Moscow, Sept. 3, 2008.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Relatives of victims of the Beslan tragedy head to the court holding a poster reading "Putin should resign for the blood of Beslan children" in Vladikavkaz, Russia, May 23, 2006.
The judge in the trial of the sole surviving suspect in the Beslan school raid, which left 331 people dead, began Tuesday reading forensic records of the victims, as the reading of the verdict stretched into the sixth day. Besides accusing the attackers, many victims and their relatives also blame the authorities for many of the deaths, saying the heavy weapons such as tanks and flame throwers that were used during the storming of the school killed their loved ones.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Women hold candles during a memorial ceremony for those who died in the 2004 Beslan hostage massacre, at a church in Moscow on Sept. 3, 2008.
Survivors of the Beslan hostage massacre called on September 1, for an international enquiry on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy, saying the Kremlin is suppressing the truth.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Teenage girls cry while walking through the Beslan school gymnasium while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2004 terrorist hostage takeover, Sept. 1, 2009.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Children survivors of the Beslan school hostage massacre pose in front of the Eiffel tower on the Parvis des Droits de l'Homme (Human Rights Esplanade) in Paris during the ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of over 330 people, including 186 children, among more than 1,000 hostages in this small town in the country's turbulent Caucasus region.
Beslan's grim anniversary
People mourn at the Beslan cemetery while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2004 terrorist hostage takeover, Sept. 3, 2009. Hundreds of mourners stood in silence in Beslan as schoolchildren released white balloons in memory of the 334 people who died in Russia's most wrenching hostage tragedy in 2004.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Youths release ballons into the air near the Beslan school while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2004 terrorist hostage takeover, Sept. 3, 2009.
Beslan's grim anniversary
People lay flowers and light candles inside the Beslan school gymnasium, Sept. 3, 2009.
Beslan's grim anniversary
People cry inside the Beslan school gymnasium, September 1, 2009.
Around 3,000 people, including survivors and relatives of those who died, gathered in the courtyard of the ruined School Number One in the small town of Beslan in the mountainous region of North Ossetia in the turbulent North Caucasus.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pays his respects by The Tree of Grief, a monument honouring the people killed during the hostage taking at the School Number One in Beslan in 2004, during his visit to Beslan's cemetery, Feb. 22, 2011.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev lays flowers by the monument of special mission unit employees killed during the release of the hostages in school No.1 in Beslan on September 1, 2004, during his visit to Beslan's cemetery, Feb. 22, 2011.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Candles are lit in memory of those killed in the 2004 school siege in Beslan, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sept. 3, 2012.
Beslan's grim anniversary
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, center, speaks to a woman as he takes part in a flower laying ceremony at the monument to victims of the 2004 school siege drama in Beslan, southern Russia, July 1, 2014.