Vitaly Kaloyev, right, and Skyguide CEO Alain Rossier, left, are
shown in Uberlingen,
Baden-Wurttemberg, where a plane crash took place on July 2, 2002
through the
fault of a Skyguide air traffic control employee. Vitaly Kaloyev's
wife
and two children died in the crash.
Vitaly Kaloyev arrest.
Vitaly Kaloyev, convicted of murdering a Swiss air traffic
controller he blamed for
the deaths of his wife
and children, has returned home. The 51-year-old was found
guilty of
premeditated homicide in 2005
after he hacked Danish born Peter Nielsen
to death in a frenzied
attack. (November 13, 2007)
Nielsen was the only person on duty for Swiss company Skyguide
when a Russian plane collided
with a cargo jet over Germany in July 2002. Kaloyev's wife and two
children were among the
71 people who died. Here he is pictured with his daughter Diana.
Kaloyev flew to Germany after the crash. He apparently pulled his
daughter's dead
body from the wreckage.
His wife and son were said to be unrecognisable.
This picture shows
son Konstantin with Diana.
Kaloyev, who was angry because Skyguide failed to apologise for
his loss, eventually
tracked Nielsen
down to his home in Switzerland. He wanted to show Nielsen pictures
of his children to make him
understand the gravity of what had happened. This picture
shows the
bedroom of his wife Svetlana,
Diana and Konstantin in their home
in Vladikavkaz.
Kaloyev says he remembers the photographs dropping to the ground
but then says his mind
went blank. Nielsen's bloodsoaked body was later found to have been
stabbed 17 times.
This picture shows the headstone of the Kaloyev family at a cemetery
in Vladikavkaz.
The crash is Germany's worst air disaster. Kaloyev's sentence was
reduced on appeal
in July - the hearing
ruled that he had acted with diminished responsibility. His lawyers
have always claimed that his
experiences pushed him over the edge.
Kaloyev's story, which has received a great deal of media
attention, has brought him widespread
sympathy in Russia. Memebers of the youth wing of political party
Rodina held a demonstration
in front of the Swiss embassy in Moscow in November 2005.
Compatriots of Kaloyev hold portraits of Lake Constance air crash
victims during a rally
to support
their fellow countryman at a city square in Vladikavkaz in October
2005.
When he arrived back in Moscow, Kaloyev thanked Russian
authorities and the public
for their support.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes his Swiss counterpart
Micheline Calmy-Rey on November 9,
2007 - just one day after Switzerland's
highest court ordered Kaloyev's release.
Vitaly Kaloyev
Vitaly Kaloyev
Vitaly Kaloyev
Sky.com