Prosecutors said Thursday that they had opened four criminal cases in connection with the demolition of several homes in the local Rechnik settlement, the latest development in a conflict that has sparked debate about property rights and selective application of the law. 

A court order permitting the homes to be razed last month was issued in violation of the law, and officials have been implicated in the criminal investigations, Deputy Prosecutor Yevgeny Zabarchuk said Thursday, Interfax reported.

Zabarchuk did not identify specific officials or the nature of the charges they might face. He did, however, say the violations "happened due to lack of control from the head of the court marshals," Interfax said.

Artur Parfyonchikov, head of the Federal Court Marshals Service, said Wednesday that his marshals committed no violations in razing 22 cottages in Rechnik. Parfyonchikov said Thursday that he was not aware of any criminal cases, Interfax reported.

President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month ordered the Prosecutor General's Office to examine the legal grounds cited for demolishing the Rechnik homes. A moratorium on razing the houses is in place pending completion of prosecutors' review.

Mayor Yury Luzhkov, meanwhile, thanked Moscow City Court Chairwoman Olga Yegorova on Thursday for the court's steadfastness in the face of criticism of the court rulings, Interfax reported.

Luzhkov has repeatedly defended the legality of the court orders allowing for the demolitions.

The head of City Hall’s environmental department, Valery Bochin, said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio Thursday that veterans who have lived in Rechnik since the 1950s might be given land outside Moscow.

"According to information from different sources, there are just five or six such residents," Bochin said.

City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi said no official decisions have been made about possible land plots to be given to Rechnik residents and that Bochin had no authority to decide such questions, Interfax reported.

Andrei Artemenko, chairman of the Rechnik community, told The Moscow Times on Thursday that Bochin's proposal was "nonsense."

The owners of Rechnik cottages have not given up and continue to file complaints and lawsuits with the relevant authorities, Artemenko said.

"The residents are continuing to fight for their rights, though they are very intimidated by the demolitions," Artemenko said.