Trial of Beslan school siege suspect begins

Chechen carpenter Nur-Pashi Kulayev, 24, faces nine charges, including murder, banditry and terrorism.

He has denied murder, claiming he thought he was going to capture a Russian checkpoint and only ever fired his machine-gun into the air.

More than 300 people were killed in the siege last September.

Security is tight around the court in the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz.

All roads leading to the supreme court have been sealed off and there is a heavy police presence around the building.

Relatives carrying pictures of some of the 300 people who died stood outside the court as Kulayev arrived by police convoy an hour before the hearing was due to start.

He was led handcuffed into a packed courtroom by six guards and placed in a cage, the Associated Press reported.