Akhmed Chataev never acted as agent of Georgian secret services, Umar Idigov asserts

Akhmed Chataev, suspected of the organization of the terror act at the Istanbul airport, had never acted as an agent of the Georgian secret services during the Mikhail Saakashvili's ruling. This opinion was voiced by Umar Idigov, the leader of the Georgian NGO "Foundation for Caucasus Integration", a resident of the village of Duisi in the Georgia's Pankisi Gorge.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 28, the terror act was committed at the Istanbul airport. It was reported that as a result of three suicide bombings, more than 40 people were killed, and other 239 were injured. Akhmed Chataev, an ethnic Chechen native, was mentioned as a suspected organizer of the terror act in Istanbul. On July 3, Irakli Sesiashvili, Chairman of the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Defence and National Security, called Akhmed Chataev an agent of the Georgian secret services during the Mikhail Saakashvili's ruling. The former Georgian President has pointed to the fact that Akhmed Chataev was released under the current regime. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has announced that the information about the Akhmed Chataev's involvement in the terror act is not confirmed by the Turkish authorities. However, according to a top-ranking source from the US, Istanbul officials have already asked for help in the search for Akhmed Chataev.

"I do not know whether he was a citizen (of Georgia, note of the "Caucasian Knot"), but he was not an agent of the Georgian secret services. He is a Chechen native, who enjoyed a very good reputation in the Pankisi Gorge. When the Georgian authorities were in need, they used his reputation," Umar Idigov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.