Chechen Prosecutor has established identity of Aushevs' kidnappers
By Umalt Chadayev
CHECHNYA, INGUSHETIA – In Chechnya the identity of the abductors of the Aushev cousins, both residents of Ingushetia, has been established. All the criminals are members of the secret services.
A Chechen FSB official has been questioned with regard to the September 18 abduction in Chechnya of two residents of the Ingush village of Surkhakhi, the cousins Magomed Osmanovich and Magomed Maksharipovich Aushev. He and two other suspects are currently wanted by Prosecutor’s Office investigators.
“As far as I know, the investigators from the Chechen Prosecutor's Office have already established the identities of the persons involved in the kidnapping of my son and nephew. At least I know about the three suspects. Two of them are members of the FSB, the third is a GRU [military intelligence] officer," the father of one of the Aushev cousins told Prague Watchdog’s correspondent.
"I have also managed to obtain information about one of these officers, the commander of the group that captured the lads. He’s Abdul Mutsayev, a Chechen FSB official. Last week he was called in for questioning, and gave testimony in the case. The investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office told me that Mutsayev said they they had acted at the request (or on the instructions or orders) of their colleagues from the Ingushetian branch of the FSB,” he said.
"According to our information, searches were carried out at the homes of these three intelligence officers with the Prosecutor’s sanction. But the officers had fled and gone into hiding. They are currently on the wanted list. I very much hope that they will all be found and will answer for their actions before the law," the father added.
Magomed Osmanovich Aushev (25) and Magomed Maksharipovich Aushev (22) were captured in the region of the suburb of Chernorechye in the Zavodsky district of the city of Grozny and taken to an unknown destination by a group of unidentified persons on the afternoon of September 18. The abducted men were only set free after a large demonstration the following day in the city of Nazran, when local residents demanded their immediate release. The demonstration ended with clashes with law enforcement officials. While in detention, the young men were beaten and tortured.
With regard to the abduction of the Aushev cousins, on October 8 the investigative department in the Zavodsky district prosecutor's office of the city of Grozny immediately opened criminal proceedings under several items of Part 2 of Article 126 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, which prescribes a term of 6 to 15 years' imprisonment for those found guilty of abduction.
Meanwhile, on October 10 Russian law-enforcement officials carried out a so-called "passport verification" at two houses occupied by relatives of the two men in the village of Surkhakhi, Nazranovsky district. The men's friends and family, their fellow villagers, and also representatives of a number of non-governmental organizations are convinced that this action was taken by the "law-enforcers" with the aim of exerting pressure on the Aushev family. (Translation by DM) (D/T) RELATED ARTICLES:
· Aushev family being subjected to pressure
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