Four residents of Southern Russia detained as members of Basaev's gang

Detentions of suspects in the attack of Basaev’s and Khattab's militants on Russian militaries in 1999 and 2000 were conducted in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Astrakhan Region and Stavropol Territory. The suspects – Radjab Khasaev, Arsen Koldasov, Batyr Arsanov and Rasul Takhtamirov – have been arrested.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), together with the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) and the “Rosgvardiya” (Russian National Guard), have detained four suspects in the attack of Basaev's units on the Botlikh District of Dagestan, on the Stavropol Territory, Ingushetia and the Astrakhan Region. The following fighters of the above illegal armed formations (IAFs) were detained: Radjab Khasaev, Arsen Koldasov, Batyr Arsanov and Rasul Takhtamirov. "At the investigator’s request, the court has ruled to place them into custody," the ICRF has reported today, explaining that the detentions were made within the cases of the attacks committed by the IAFs under the general command of Shamil Basaev and Emir Khattab in August 1999 on the Botlikh and Tsumadinsky Districts of the Republic of Dagestan, and the armed clashes that occurred on October 4, 1999, of the above gangs with servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the area of the village of Chervlyonnaya in the Shelkovskoi District of the Chechen Republic, and on February 29, 2000, in the area of the village of Ulus-Kert in the Shatoi District of the Chechen Republic with servicemen of the 6th company of the 104th regiment of the 76th Pskov Division of the Airborne Troops.

The Criminal cases has been opened under the articles on armed rebellion, participation in a gang and attempted murder attempts on servicemen’s lives (Part 3 of Article 279, Part 2 of Article 209 and Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the report informs.

Same witnesses are everywhere.

The criminal cases on participation in Basaev’s and Khattab’s gangs are in much similar and often falsified, Narine Airapetyan, an advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot". "The same witnesses are everywhere. Five witnesses are usually taken – three secret and two open ones," she has added, stressing that cases are also fabricated against innocent people, citing the example of one of her clients.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 27, 2025 at O1:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.