Kadyrov's permanent envoy to Crimea stands up for his detained assistant

The extortion and use of firearms by Murad Saidov, detained in the Crimea is "out of question," said Isa Khachukaev, Kadyrov's permanent envoy to the peninsula. Saidov could face charges of kidnapping, said a source close to investigators.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Murad Saidov, an assistant to the permanent envoy of the head of Chechnya to the Crimea, was detained on February 6 in the town of Saki; several small arms were seized from him. Kadyrov said that Saidov legally owned his firearms, and he functioned as an assistant to the permanent envoy "on the voluntary basis." In his turn, Djambulat Umarov, a Chechen Minister, stated that Saidov "had no relation to the Chechen government."

Isa Khachukaev, the Ramzan Kadyrov's permanent envoy to the Crimea, said that Murad Saidov would receive "a disciplinary punishment", should his guilt be proved.

According to Kadyrov's envoy, the participants in the dispute about some not yet realised business project had mutually insulted each other, but did not use any firearms. "The data spread by mass media that there was extortion, the use of firearms and special means – this is excluded," the TASS quotes Khachukaev as saying on February 12.

Murad Saidov may be charged with kidnapping, a source close to investigators said on February 9. The businessman, who was beaten up during the conflict with Saidov, declared illegal deprivation of freedom: according to his story, he was locked in a sauna for some time, demanding to increase tenfold his monthly fee "for business." The victim is in hospital with fractures, while Saidov, at first, "behaved defiantly at interrogations and then fell silent," the radio station "Moscow's Speaking" has reported referring to the source.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 13, 2019 at 09:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.