Comments

You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Leaders of Ichkerian formation sentenced in absentia in Russia

2025-01-15

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Murad Yusupov and Akhmed Zakayev were sentenced in absentia to 19 and 20 years of imprisonment in the case of the terrorist organization "Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria".

… a special forces unit of Chechen volunteers, part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. It is one of several Chechen units. It sounds like it should be part of the War on Terror, but it looks like they’re actually just part of the Ukraine fight against Russia.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the case of two natives of Chechnya, Akhmed Zakayev and Murad Yusupov, who were accused of organizing and leading the terrorist community "Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria*" (OBON), was submitted to the Southern District Military Court for consideration. In June 2024, Akhmed Zakayev was arrested in absentia by a court decision.

The Southern District Military Court sentenced Murad Yusupov and Akhmed Zakayev to 19 and 20 years in prison.

"The court sentenced Zakayev to 20 years of imprisonment for the totality of [crimes], with the first three years to be served in prison and the rest of the term in a strict regime penal colony; Yusupov to 19 years of imprisonment, with the first three years to be served in prison and the rest of the term in a strict regime penal colony," TASS quotes the court representative as saying.

According to the investigation, in July 2022, Zakayev proclaimed himself the leader of the so-called independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria on the territory of Ukraine, recruited Yusupov and other unidentified persons to the group to participate in military actions on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zakayev, as the investigation believes, also created the terrorist community "Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Ministry of Defense of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as part of the Foreign Legion of Ukraine", which he led until July 28, 2022, then handed over leadership to Yusupov.

According to the prosecution, the members of the terrorist group were armed with machine guns and hand grenade launchers. They recruited new members and set up training camps. Cases were opened in absentia against Zakayev under Part 2 of Article 205.2 (public calls to commit terrorist activity), Part 1 of Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (leadership of a terrorist group), and against Yusupov - also in absentia under Part 2 of Article 208 (participation in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state...), Part 1 of Article 205.4 (leadership of a terrorist group) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Zakayev and Yusupov have been included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of individuals for whom there is information about their involvement in extremist activity or terrorism.

Posted by:badanov

00:00