Lawyer for sect head appeals his client's arrest

Moscow, Russia - A lawyer for the head of a notorious sect who promised to resurrect children killed at Beslan has asked a court to release his client from custody, a court official said Monday.

Grigory Grabovoi, detained last week on the suspicion of fraud, claimed that he could heal many diseases and even resurrect people. He collected large sums of money from the parents of children killed in the horrific school siege in September 2004.

Igor Pavlov, a Moscow prosecutor, said a criminal case was opened against Grabovoi on March 20 after deceived parents demanded a probe into his activities.

331 people died in the Beslan atrocity, including 186 children.