1. This section of the report was written on the basis of interviews with three independent groups of witnesses and participants in the events. These three sources were questioned soon after the events took place in separate locations and at different times. They include: 1) the medical personnel of Municipal Hospital No. 9 in Grozny; 2) former hostage-patients in Samashki; and 3) H. Khachukaev and soldiers from his unit in Grozny. The information gained from the interviews painted a complete and uncontradictory picture.
A. Babitskii and H. Raduev of French Press and Radio Liberty were the first correspondents to report on the occupation of the local hospital.