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Sinai Plane Crash Relatives Sue Russia's Top Investigator Bastrykin

Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin

Relatives of the victims of the crash of a Russian plane over Egypt's Sinai peninsula have declared war on the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, the TASS news agency reported Thursday, citing their lawyer.

Igor Trunov told TASS he had filed a complaint on behalf of 35 relatives of the Sinai crash victims with Moscow's Basmanny Court, accusing Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin of failing to act.

“I asked to be notified of whether a criminal investigation had been opened [into the crash.] If so, what the case number is and who are the investigators [responsible],” he was cited as saying.

Trunov told the RAPSI news agency “it is absolutely unclear who will bear responsibility for these deaths.”

In his appeal, Trunov also asked the court to open a criminal investigation into the actions of employees of the Ingosstrakh insurance agency, TASS reported.

The lawyer argued Ingosstrakh — the company tasked with paying compensation to the families of the victims — had attempted to cheat relatives out of the money using false declarations, the report said.

The Russian Airbus A321 broke up in mid-air over the Sinai peninsula in late October on its way to St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board were killed in what was most likely an attack carried out by the Islamic State, a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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