The Arakcheev and Khudyakov case is a criminal case against two officers of Dzerzhinsky division of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation, Sergey Arakcheev and Evgeny Khudyakov, for allegedly killing three residents of the village Lacha Varandy (Chechen Republic): Said Jangulbaev, Abdulla Dzhambekov and Nazhmuddin Khasanov. The case received special attention because the accused were fully acquitted twice of the claimed crimes in courts of law, only to have both verdicts revoked on formal grounds. According to Arakcheev and his defenders, the case is politically motivated. Many of the case's political and media commentators see it as a Russian analogue of the Dreyfus affair. Personal background At the time of the incident, Sergey Vladimirovich Arakcheev (born on 6 July 1981) was a lieutenant, being graduated in 2002. From 20 June 2002 till 3 March 2003 Arakcheev was serving as a commander of an engineering company of military unit 3186, stationed in Grozny, Chechen Republic, Russia. The unit's main task was to clear mines from a road. Arakcheev cleared over 25 explosive devices. He was a cavalier of the medal "For Military Valour" and "Medal of Suvorov". He had no previous criminal record and was positively characterized by his military superiors. Evgeny Sergeevich Khudyakov (born on 26 January 1978) was a first lieutenant graduated in 2001, and the commander of a motorized rifle company of military unit 3186. Like Arakcheev, he had no previous criminal record and was positively characterized by his military superiors; he had several distinction awards. Attack on Chechen residents According to the letter of accusation, Chechen builders Jangulbaev, Dzhambekov and Khasanov lay down on the ground on the orders of the strangers in the green masks, and after that they were shot dead. The builders' Kamaz was pushed away to the roadside, doused with petrol and set on fire. The passports of the dead men were destroyed. The criminals stopped the GAZ-3110 car, shot its tyres and radiator, and robbed Shamil Junusov, the driver of the car. After that, they interrogated Junusov, torturing him by shooting his leg. According to the Chechen victims' lawyer Ludmila Tikhomirova, the accused had done these crimes not during the combat mission, but in their free time while they had been drunk driving around Grozny. The trials The first trial On 12 March 2003 Khudyakov was accused of the murder of civilian residents of Chechnya, and on