Anatoly Sultanovich Kyarov (; 10 November 1957 12 January 2008) was the head of the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...

republic's UBOP (Unit for Fighting Organized Crime). He and his UBOP squad were accused of serious

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

abuses within Kabardino-Balkaria, including of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

.MURDER OF KABARDINO-BALKARIA LAW-ENFORCER: ANOTHER TURN IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE?
/ref> Kyarov was assassinated on January 12, 2008, in

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

together with a senior officer of the

OMON OMON is a system of military special police units within the Armed Forces of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the So ...

special forces, while two other police officers were wounded in the attack. The local Islamist insurgent group Yarmuk Jamaat was seen as responsible for the assassination (its leader,

Anzor Astemirov Anzor Astemirov (, 3 December 1976 – 24 March 2010), also known as Emir Sayfullah (Sword of God), was an Islamist leader in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the North Caucasus. For several years, Astemirov headed the local terroris ...

, have previously survived many assassination attempts himself by Kyarov and his men).Astemirov Strikes Back: Background and Implications of the Kyarov Assassination in Kabardino-Balkaria
/ref>

References

2008 deaths Assassinated Russian people Deaths by firearm in Russia People murdered in Russia People of the Chechen wars Russian police officers Heroes of the Russian Federation 1957 births Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) {{Russia-bio-stub