Umar Israilov
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Umar S. Israilov (russian: Умар Шарпуддиевич Исраилов; c. 1982 – January 13, 2009) was a former bodyguard of Chechen President
Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov ce, КъадаргӀеран Ахьмат-кӏант Рамзан, translit= (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the ...
who became a critic of the Chechen government. He was shot and killed in exile in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
on January 13, 2009.


Biography and murder

Israilov fought against Russian forces during the
Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...
, but was captured in 2003. He began serving as Ramzan Kadyrov's bodyguard in a militia that was led by Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of Chechen President
Akhmad Kadyrov Akhmad-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov ce, Къадири Ӏабдулхьамидан кӀант Ахьмад-Хьажи, Q̇adiri Jabdulẋamidan khant Aẋmad-Ẋaƶi (23 August 1951 – 9 May 2004) was a Russian politician and revolutionar ...
.A Killing in Vienna and the Chechen Connection
by Fred Burton and Ben West
Israilov claimed to have witnessed killings, torture, and other crimes by
Kadyrovites ) , patron = , motto = Akhmad is strong!(russian: Ахмат — сила!) , colors = A-TACS , colors_label = , march = , mas ...
including Ramzan Kadyrov and
Adam Delimkhanov Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov (russian: Адам Султанович Делимханов; born 25 September 1969) is a Russian politician of Chechen ethnicity, who has been member of the Russian State Duma since 2007. He is a member of the Uni ...
, who went on to serve in the
Russian Parliament The Federal Assembly ( rus, Федера́льное Собра́ние, r=Federalnoye Sobraniye, p=fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə sɐˈbranʲɪjə) is the national legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian F ...
.C.J. Chivers
"A deadly exile for Chechen leader's accuser,"
''International Herald Tribune'', 1 February 2009.
In 2006 Israilov and his father, Sharpuddi Israilov, each filed complaints in the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
against the Russian and Chechen governments. The case was dropped after the court sought more information but could not locate the Israilovs, who had gone into hiding.
Stratfor Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American geopolitics publisher and consultancy founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online public ...
quoted claims by unnamed sources that Israilov was murdered "by organized criminal assets in Vienna at the behest of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and with Kremlin approval." After the killing, Austrian police arrested and questioned eight Chechen men who had either received or applied for
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
in Austria. In February 2009 police in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
arrested a man identified as Turpal Ali J. whom they described as an "accomplice" to Israilov's murderer.


Prosecution

An Austrian court sentenced three individuals to prison for Israilov's murder on June 1, 2011.Austrian court convicts Chechens over dissident's death
/ref> Otto Kaltenbrunner, Suleiman Dadayev and Turpal-Ali Yesherkayev received sentences of life, 19 years, and 16 years, respectively.
Austrian police The Federal Police ( de-AT, Bundespolizei) is the national and principal law enforcement agency of Austria. The Federal Police was formed in July 2005 as one formal unit of police. In 2005, the Federal Police replaced the Austrian Federal Genda ...
believe Chechen President Kadyrov ordered Israilov's abduction, an action that later ended in murder. Lecha Bogatirov, the man suspected of firing the fatal shots, remained at large.


Controversy over "List of sentenced to death"

As reported by
C.J. Chivers Christopher John Chivers (born 1964) is an American journalist and author best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire (magazine), Esquire'' magazine. He is currently assigned to ''The New York Times Magazine'' and the newspa ...
, a journalist for the ''International Herald Tribune'', in August 2008 Austrian authorities interviewed a Chechen man who said he had been sent to find Umar Israilov, and that Israilov was on a list of enemies whom Kadyrov allegedly intended to have killed. The man asked Israilov "to withdraw his complaints or risk being killed and having his family killed." However the Austrians did not detain the man and did not provide protection for Israilov. The summary of Arthur Kurmakayev's (the man previously mentioned) interrogation by the Austrian police was published by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' and ''
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...
''."I did not say that. It's fake. The same way Tukhachevsky was calumniated."
February 11, 2009,
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...
, (in Russian)
In a February 3, 2009 exclusive interview with the independent Internet media
Caucasian Knot Caucasian Knot (Russian: Кавказский узел, ''Kavkazkii Uzel'') is an online news site that covers the Caucasus region in English and Russian. It was established in 2001 and Grigory Shvedov is the editor-in-chief.
(a media project related to the
Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
society), Chivers stated that "authenticity of the list of 300 natives from Chechnya, sentenced to death by President Kadyrov, which was published in the western press, has not been proved yet". He said, "I have not seen this list, so I don't know details of its contents, and this is obviously a rich area for follow-on reporting. However, I can't guarantee its authenticity" and stated that it's very easy to compose a false list, while sites of Chechen separatists very often publish propaganda among the actual information. On February 9, 2009 Arthur Kurmakayev, who was questioned by Austrian police about Israilov's killing, told the Russian newspaper ''
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...
'' that Austrian police had libeled him with a false report. Kurmakayev denied any connection with Kadyrov or the security services.


Official responses

The day after the murder, ''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...
'' interviewed Timur Aliyev, an adviser to Kadyrov and a former journalist who covered the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second Chechen Wars extensively: On January 23, 2009, Lema Gudayev, Kadyrov's press secretary, alleged that the media had "launched a massive and deliberate campaign aimed at discrediting the leadership and the president of the Chechen Republic." According to Gudayev, "Having lost all their positions in the armed resistance to the authorities, the so-called ideologues of terrorism have launched a massive information war against Chechnya and its president, Kadyrov."Заговор против Кадырова (Conspiracy against Kadyrov)
January 23, 2009 (in Russian)


References


External links


Compilation of documents in Israilov case
FIDH The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israilov, Umar Assassinated Chechen people People murdered in Austria Russian people murdered abroad 1980s births 2009 deaths Russian people of Chechen descent Chechen people Deaths by firearm in Austria 2009 murders in Austria Bodyguards Male murder victims