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Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - april 2009

Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - april 2009


1 april 2009


No decision on ending counterterrorist operation in Chechnya: (i) Commenting on a meeting of the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) yesterday in Moscow to consider ending the counterterrorist operation in Chechnya, observes point out that no decision on the issue has been taken. Meanwhile, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov told the press that the proposal to lift the counterterrorist operation regime on Chechnya has been backed by the NAK. Kommersant reports that the counterterrorist operation regime in Chechnya would be lifted “partially”. According to the daily, the Chechen authorities will be allowed to open Grozny’s airport for international flights and to set up a customs office. (ii) The media reports on clashes with militants on Tuesday in Ingushetia’s Sunzha district. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, NG, RG, Vedomosti, VN)


Russian diplomats follow probe into Sulim Yamadayev murder in Dubai: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko said on Tuesday that Moscow follows closely the probe into the attempted murder in the United Arab Emirates of a Russian national, presumably the former commander of the Vostok battalion Sulim Yamadayev.Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim is quoted as saying that Yamadayev “was shot and died instantly on the scene”, i.e. on 28 March, having thus dismissed Russian media reports that Yamadayev had survived the attack. Tamim also expressed confidence that “an organised criminal group was behind the assassination”. According to media reports, several people have been detained by Dubai police on suspicion of involvement in the murder. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said Chechen police were ready to help Dubai authorities with the investigation. (Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, Novye Izvestia, RG, RIAN)



2 april 2009


Sulim Yamadayev buried in Dubai?:Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on Wednesday that the former commander of the Vostok battalion Sulim Yamadayev was buried in Dubai two days ago by his brother Isa. However, there is still no official confirmation of Yamadayev’s death. According to Kommersant, up to 20 Russians have been detained by Dubai police on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Yamadayev. The daily writes that police are looking into a theory that a fight broke out between Yamadayev and a group of Russian tourists. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT)


3 april 2009


Suspects sentenced for plotting to kill Chechen President: The Moscow City Court on Thursday sentenced to eight years imprisonment Lors Khamiyev who was found guilty of organising an attempt on the life of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov in 2007. Another defendant in the case, Umar Batukayev, who was found by a jury guilty of storing arms and using forged documents, was sentenced to five years imprisonment. A third suspect, Ruslan Musayev, was acquitted. (Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant, RG, VN)


6 april 2009


Dubaipolice chief accuses Duma member of involvement in Yamadayev murder: Chief of the Dubai Police Dahi Khalfan Tamim on Sunday accused Duma member Adam Delimkhanov of masterminding the assassination on 28 March in Dubai of the former commander of the Defence Ministry’s Vostok battalion Sulim Yamadayev, adding that the UAE will put Delimkhanov on an Interpol wanted list. Tamim also said that two suspects, an Iranian and Tajik, have been arrested in connection with Yamadayev’s murder. According to Tamim, “this murder was a pure Chechen operation”. Delimkhanov, who is a cousin of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and a former Chechen Deputy PM, dismissed the allegation as “provocative” and “aimed at destabilizing the situation in Chechnya”. Delimkhanov stressed his readiness to cooperate with the Dubai police. In the meantime, an unnamed source at the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office recalled that the Russian Constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens to foreign countries. Federation Council member from Chechnya Ziyad Sabsabi is quoted as having branded the Dubai police allegations as “an attempt to hide an absolute failure of the investigation”. (Gazeta, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, RIAN, VN)


7 april 2009


ChechnyaPresident dismisses accusations against Duma member: (i) Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov dismissed as “provocative” and “unfounded” the Dubai police allegations that Duma member Adam Delimkhanov had been involved in the assassination of former commander of the Vostok battalion Sulim Yamadayev. Kadyrov also said that there is evidence that Sulim Yamadayev might have been involved in the killing of Akhmad Kadyrov (Ramzan Kadyrov’s father) in 2004. (ii) Rossiyskaya Gazeta publishes an interview with Ramzan Kadyrov on the situation in Chechnya. (Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, Novye Izvestia, RG, RIAN, Vedomosti, VN)


15 april 2009


Major terrorist act prevented in Chechnya – police; al-Qaeda emissary killed in Dagestan: (i) A senior Interior Ministry official said on Tuesday that a large-scale terrorist act had been thwarted in Chechnya after police seized 60 kilograms of explosives in Chechnya’s Vedeno district. The local authorities, however, refuted reports that a batch of explosives had been found in the district. (ii) The Federal Security Service (FSB) said a Turkish national and an emissary of al-Qaeda was killed in Dagestan’s town of Khasavyurt on Monday. (Interfax, Lenta.ru, RIAN, VN)


17 april 2009


Counterterrorist operation regime cancelled in Chechnya: (i) The National Antiterrorist Committee (NAK) yesterday announced the end of the counterterrorist operation regime in Chechnya, which was imposed in 1999, from midnight on 16 April. Some commentators say the decision could be considered as a “formality” as the situation in Chechnya in the past several years is “quieter than in neighbouring Ingushetia or Dagestan”. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said the move could boost economic growth in Chechnya and prompt an inflow of investment in the republic. The press reports that restrictions on visits to Chechnya by foreign reporters will be lifted ultimately. According to media reports, up to 20,000 policemen and military servicemen could be withdrawn from Chechnya with the end of counterterrorist operations. At the same time, the Interior Ministry’s 46th brigade and the Defence Ministry’s 42nd motorized infantry division will stay in Chechnya. (ii) The press reported on Thursday that investigators have reopened a probe into the murder of Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov (the father of incumbent Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov) on 9 May 2004. However, the Investigations Committee within the Prosecutor General’s Office later annulled the order to reinvestigate the case. Vremya novostei recalls that after the 28 March 2009 attack on former commander of the Defence Ministry’s Vostok battalion Sulim Yamadayev, Ramzan Kadyrov demanded that the case of his father’s death be resumed, and accused Sulim Yamadayev of involvement in the murder. (All media)


20 april 2009

Northern Caucasus: clash with militants in Chechnya: (i) The press reports on a clash between federal soldiers and a group of militants in Chechnya’s Shatoi district, just hours after the end of counterterrorist operations in Chechnya. No casualties are reported among servicemen. (ii) Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has appointed Vladimir Borshchev as the head of his administration. Kommersant expresses the view that by appointing Borshchev, who served in the Federal Security Service, Yevkurov hopes to reduce the corruption rate in Ingushetia. (Interfax, Kommersant, MT)


Charges brought against accomplice in Ruslan Yamadayev murder: Investigators have charged Elimpasha Khatsuyev of complicity in the murder of former Duma member Ruslan Yamadayev and the attempted murder of former military commandant of Chechnya Sergey Kizyun on 24 September 2008 in Moscow. (Gazeta, Kommersant)


23 april 2009


Three federal soldiers killed in Chechnya: Three Defence Ministry contract servicemen were killed in an attack on Wednesday in Chechnya. Russian military officials said that militant activity in Chechnya had increased since the announcement on 16 April of the end of counterterrorist operations in the republic. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, however, denied that the situation in Chechnya has worsened. (Interfax, RIAN, VN)


27 april 2009


Counterterrorist operations launched in Chechnya: The press reports on new counterterrorist operations launched by federal troops in several districts of Chechnya on Friday, just over a week after the end of the counterterrorist operation regime in the republic. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, however, denied reports on operations against militants in Chechnya. (Interfax, Kommersant, MT)


29 april 2009


Situation in Northern Caucasus remains tense: Nezavisimaya Gazetawrites that the end of counterterrorist operations in Chechnya did not lead to any significant changes in the situation in the republic. Clashes with militants in Chechnya are reported almost every day. Vremya novostei refers to the Memorial human rights centre which pointed to an increase in the number of killings and kidnappings in Chechnya since the beginning of 2009. The press reports on an alleged shootout between police and Ingush President’s guards on Tuesday in Ingushetia. Three people were killed and one injured in the incident. (NG, RIAN, VN)


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