HRC "Memorial": story about five missing Caucasians in Moscow turns into story about seven detainees

The fate of the five natives of the Caucasus, who disappeared in Moscow in late September, is still unknown. Their relatives suppose that they were detained by power agents and are kept in some Moscow detention centre. Rights defenders, who have joined the search, found that the cases of three missing persons are run by the military inquiry department, while all the actions on the cases of the remaining two have been suspended. Besides, the story about five missing persons develops further and has transformed into a story about seven detainees.

Let us remind you that Zelimkhan Chibiev and Magomed Israpilov, and their friends Djamal Magomedov, Akil Abdullaev and Dovar Asadov disappeared at night on September 25, when returning from their Friday prayer.

On November 3, wives and mothers of the kidnapped persons came to the "Civil Assistance" Committee to Svetlana Gannushkina, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports.

In discussion, some additional particulars of the case were revealed. It turned out that in the afternoon on September 24 eight young men who knew each other went in their cars from the Moscow Region to the mosque located in Bolshaya Tatarskaya Street in Moscow.

Zelimkhan Chibiev, Djamal Magomedov and Akil Abdullaev were in one car.

The second car contained Magomed Israpilov, Alexander Khaidov, Anzor Gasanov and two citizens of Tajikistan - Dovar Asadov and Khasan Nakkash. Anzor Gasanov was brought home in Khovrino at 2 a.m. After 15 minutes, he started calling his friends to find out how they got home, but their mobile telephones had been switched off already.

On October 29, Anzor Gasanov was detained on suspicion of robbery; during the detention he was wounded and taken to hospital under convoy. Anzor is now in Moscow SIZO (Pre-Trial Prison) No. 4.

On November 15, the story about the two Tajik nationals was reported by Nailya Kazakova, mother of Dovar Asadov, who arrived from Dushanbe in search of her son and son-in-law. She said that Dovar had studied for 5 years at a university in Moscow; after graduation he worked in Moscow; was in a civil marriage with a female citizen of Russia and has a five-month daughter. Dovar and his wife wanted to go to Dushanbe and organize a wedding party there.

Khasan Nakkash - son of Nailya Kazakova - is a doctor. He had come to Moscow in September to find a place for retraining and an opportunity to enter an internship. He found one and was about to return home.

According to Nailya Kazakova, her son began visiting mosque only in Moscow, while her son-in-law was not at all religious. On September 24, Nailya and her husband spoke with their son by telephone, but since September 25 his mobile phone did not answer.

Nailya addressed the Embassy of Tajikistan; then, the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed a request to the Russian MIA, to which a response was received on November 17 that search cases had been initiated against Dovar Asadov and Khasan Nakkash, which were run by the UVD (Interior Department) of the central Administrative District of Moscow. On November 18, a criminal case was initiated under Part 2, point "zh", Article 126 (kidnapping of several persons), of the Russian Criminal Code. On November 29, three applicants: Xenia Nazhmutdinova, Israpilov's wife; Alyona Strogonova, Khaidov's mother; and Nailya Kazakova were questioned on this case as witnesses.

Since early December, the investigator refuses to accept applications on recognition of the women as victims, arguing that the case is being referred to the Koptevo Prosecutor's Office, where the incident had happened. However, the case was not received there; and as clarified by advocate Bobodzhanova, who is seeking recognition of disappearances' wives and mothers as victims, had not been sent anywhere. Thus, all the actions on the case have been suspended.

Let us note here that initially the case was run by the Golovin Moscow Prosecutor's Office, because the communication with the missing persons was interrupted at about 2:00 a.m. on September 25, when they were still in Moscow. Investigator Darya Portman, who was ordered to run the case, at first, started it vigorously. But after a while, she said to Nailya Kazakova, that she "knew very well herself where her son and son-in-law were." According to Ms Portman's hypothesis, they were trained in terrorist camps; while their relatives make a fuss to distract attention.

As to the missing persons, who were in the fist car, the case is same slow, but in some different way, say human rights activists. Anet Sunsheva and Olga Skryabina were told by detective Maxim Paskazov, when they first came to the Dolgoprudny Prosecutor's Office, how their husbands had been detained. However, later they were explained that he had confused them with other detainees.

Advocate Emil Taubulatov was told at that Prosecutor's Office that the materials of the check in relation to the three detainees had been handed over to the military prosecutor's office.

Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the HRC "Memorial", sent requests to the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) and the Investigatory Committee under the GPO (ICPO), and applications - to the Russian and Moscow Ombudsmen - about the disappearances. To date only interim responses on instructions to start a check have been received.