CHECHNYA LINKS LIBRARY

Chechen police officer missing after arrest by local FSB officials

By Ruslan Isayev

CHECHNYA – 30-year-old Khasan Khasbulatov, an officer of the Chechen interior ministry’s so-called “Neftepolk” (oil installation protection unit), has been arrested at his home village in Nadterechny district.

Some time after his arrest it became clear that he had been detained by local FSB officials for his alleged involvement in the abduction of an elderly woman from the Zagayev family ten years ago.

In 1997 an elderly sister of Akhmar Zagayev, presently a member of the Russian State Duma, was abducted by unknown persons. The woman was held captive for a year and a half, and villagers say that a large ransom was paid for her. She died a year ago.

The official view was that  all the perpetrators of this crime had already been punished : some were killed while others were put in prison, and so Khasbulatov’s arrest has come as a great surprise to most people.

The latest reports indicate that although Khasbulatov’s relatives have begun a search for him, officials of the special services have hinted to them that he is not in Grozny or in the district, and that there is now no point in looking for him.

(D/T)