23 March 2004, 14:35
New victim of arbitrariness in Grozny streets
The funeral of Ilyas Khatatayev was held on March 19 in the village of Serzhen-Yurt, Chechnya's Shali district. The man was killed by a gunman in camouflage uniform in broad daylight in the center of Grozny the day before.
According to Khatatayev's kinswomen who accompanied him on the day of the tragedy, the incident started with a verbal squabble because of everyday things.
The man who started disputing with Ilyas wore camouflage uniform without military insignia and was Chechen. The women calmed the contenders, and they separated. But after the stranger had made some steps away, he suddenly turned round and opened aimed fire on Ilyas from an automatic rifle.
Khatatayev died at the scene. The criminal escaped. Relatives of the killed man believe the murderer was an officer of one of the numerous security agencies operating in the Chechen Republic.
Today, representatives of virtually all security agencies in Chechnya perform their duties and appear in public places with arms and without any military insignia. It is impossible to determine by sight, without looking into their certificates of employment which agency they belong to.
Source: Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship
