By Caroline Wyatt The BBC's Russia correspondent

The high profile trial of one of the most senior Russian officers on charges of human rights abuses in Chechnya could end later on Wednesday if the court agrees that Colonel Yuri Budanov was temporarily insane when he murdered an 18-year-old Chechen girl, Kheda Kungayev.

Colonel Budanov claims that Kungayev was a Chechen sniper and that he killed her during an interrogation.

The trial has aroused anger among ordinary Chechens and the family of the dead girl - who say that if Colonel Budanov walks free without being punished for killing their daughter, it will be a travesty of justice.

This case has polarised public opinion in Russia - from those who see Colonel Yuri Budanov as a hero, to others who believe he may get away with murder simply because his victim was a Chechen.

'Moment of rage'

Colonel Budanov was the commander of a regiment sent to put down the rebellion in Chechnya.

This is the first trial of a Russian soldier over Chechnya

In March 2000, after drinking heavily to celebrate his daughter's birthday, Budanov and his men seized Kheda Kungayev.

She was taken from her home, bound in a blanket, to the colonel's sleeping quarters.

What is clear from the initial post mortem is that Kheda was then stripped and beaten, before being raped and finally strangled.

The colonel does not deny the killing, but claims that he strangled Kheda in a moment of rage during a night-time interrogation.

Now Russian psychiatrists have declared that Colonel Budanov was temporarily insane at the time of the killing.

If the court accepts that, the murder charges could be dropped - allowing the colonel to walk free.

For most Chechens, that would raise serious questions about whether Moscow really wants to investigate crimes and human rights abuses committed by its troops in Chechnya.