Ruslan Alikhadzhiyev

Ruslan Alikhadzhiyev ( _ru. Руслан Алихаджиев) was a former parliamentary speaker of the Chechen Republic, Russia who was forcibly disappeared by the Russian forces in 2000.

On May 17, 2000, he was abducted by the uniformed Russian soldiers supported by armoured vehicles and helicopters from his home in Shali when he sought a negotiated end to the Second Chechen War on behalf of Aslan Maskhadov. Alikhadzhiyev, who had four small children and was caring for a sick mother, didn't resist. He was blindfolded and taken to a location nearby, which is where he was last seen. On May 25, Colonel General Valery Manilov confirmed the arrest.

In September 2000, Maskhadov's Chechenpress service claimed Alikhadzhiyev was tortured to death in the Moscow's Lefortovo prison. Agence France Presse (AFP), citing sources close to the Chechen leadership, reported that Alikhadzhiyev had died of a heart attack in the Lefortovo. However, the Federal Security Service (FSB), which operates Lefortovo, denied that it is holding Alikhadzhiyev. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8331.htm Russia: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001] , Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 4, 2002] [ [http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=12424 Chechen Politican Disappears] , "St. Petersburg Times", September 8, 2000]

A Shalinsky District's prosecutor's office said it opened a case for kidnapping, but "the steps taken to identify the individuals responsible for this crime have been unsuccessful" and the investigation was suspended on December 12, 2000. [ [http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc01/EDOC8948.htm Information on criminal case #22025 concerning the kidnapping of Alikhadzhiyev R.Sh. (copy)] , Council of Europe, 23 January 2001]

The case of disappearance and presumed death of Alikhadzhiyev was used by Sergei Kovalev in his defense of Akhmed Zakayev before the British extradition court in 2003. [ [http://www.gazeta.ru/2003/07/01/Zakayevsaved.shtml Zakayev saved by Mr Y] , Gazeta.ru, 2003/07/01]

In July 2007, the European Court of Human Rights found Russian authorities responsible for the presumed killing of Alikhadzhyev and ordered the government to pay his mother 40,000 euros ($54,500) in damages. [ [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/07/06/012.html Chechen Wins in Strasbourg] , "The Moscow Times", July 6, 2007] [ [http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-05-voa48.cfm EU Court Rules Against Russia in Chechen's Disappearance] , Voice of America, 05 July 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/07/wmoscow207.xml Russia 'ordered murder of Chechen moderate'] ," The Daily Telegraph", 07/07/2007