Ruslan Shamilevich Alikhadzhiev (russian: Руслан Алихаджиев) was a

parliamentary speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

of the

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state tha ...

who was

forcibly disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiz ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

n forces in 2000.

Life

Alikhadzhiev was born in 1961 and fought in the First Chechen War as a field commander. In the years 1997-1999 he was the Chairman of the Parliament of the

. During the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...

he did not take an active part in hostilities and instead sought a negotiated end to the war on behalf of Chechen President

Aslan Maskhadov Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov (russian: Асла́н (Хали́д) Али́евич Масха́дов; ce, Масхадан Али-воӀ Аслан (Халид), Masxadan Ali-voj Aslan (Xalid); 21 September 1951 – 8 March 2005) was ...

.DECISION AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF Application no. 68007/01 by Zura ALIKHADZHIYEVA against Russia
/ref>

Forced disappearance

On 17 May 2000, Alikhadzhiev was detained by a large group of

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

ed Russian soldiers who arrived by

armoured vehicle Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an ar ...

s and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s at his home in Shali. Alikhadzhiyev, who was with his four minor children and was caring for a sick mother, did not resist; he was

handcuff Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet th ...

ed,

blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the eyes to disable the wearer's sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a poorly tied or trick blindfo ...

ed and taken by an armoured vehicle to a location nearby, which is where he was last seen. Five more men were detained with him at the other locations in Shali this night, but they were all released the next day. On 25 May,

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

Valery Manilov The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...

confirmed the arrest during a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental or ...

, and on 1 August the state news agency

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asset ...

announced that "Ruslan Alikhadzhiev, one of the closest allies of Maskhadov, was captured in a special operation by the FSB." In September 2000, Maskhadov's

Chechenpress State News Agency Chechenpress (SNA Chechenpress) is the news agency of the Chechen separatists who proclaim themselves to be the representatives of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. It used to be the official press agency of Chechnya. As of 200 ...

service claimed Alikhadzhiev was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

d to death in the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

's Lefortovo prison; AFP, citing sources close to the Chechen leadership, reported that Alikhadzhiyev had died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in the Lefortovo. However, the FSB, which operates Lefortovo, denied that it is holding Alikhadzhiyev. On 21 September 2000,

Yuri Biryukov Yury Stanislavovich Biryukov (in , b. March 7, 1948, in Lviv, Ukraine, Soviet Union) is a Russian lawyer and politician. From June 7, 2000 to July 7, 2006, he was a First Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia. Since 2006 he has been a represen ...

, the Senior Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, said answering to a question asked in the Russian

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper hous ...

regarding the whereabouts of Alikhadzhiev that he was killed in August by "the same group of unknown armed people" that had abducted him. A

Shalinsky District Shalinsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia: *Shalinsky District, Chechen Republic, an administrative and municipal district of the Chechen Republic *Shalinsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, an adminis ...

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

's office said it opened a case for

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...

, but "the steps taken to identify the individuals responsible for this crime have been unsuccessful" and the investigation was suspended on 12 December 2000. The case of disappearance and presumed death of Alikhadzhiyev was used by

Sergei Kovalev Sergei Adamovich Kovalyov (also spelled Sergey Kovalev; russian: link=no, Сергей Адамович Ковалёв; 2 March 1930 – 9 August 2021) was a Russian human rights activist and politician. During the Soviet period he was a diss ...

in his defense of

Akhmed Zakayev Akhmed Halidovich Zakayev ( ce, Заки Хьалид кlант Ахьмад, Zaki Halid-khant Ahmad; russian: Ахмед Халидович Закаев, Akhmed Khalidovich Zakayev; born 26 April 1959) is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Pri ...

, Maskhadov's envoy on Europe, before the British

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisd ...

court in 2003; Zakayev was soon granted a

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

in Britain. In July 2007, in the case Alikhadzhieva v Russia, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

found Russian authorities responsible for the "disappearance" and presumed killing of Alikhadzhiev and ordered the government to pay his mother 40,000 euros ($54,500) in damages.Strasbourg Court Again Rules Against Russia in Chechnya-Related Case

The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

, July 12, 2007

References

External links

Russia May Be Charged with the Abduction of Ichkerian Parliament Speaker
''

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russi ...

'', 21 December 2005
Russia Found Guilty of Murder
''

'', 6 July 2007
Russia 'ordered murder of Chechen moderate'
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 7 July 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alikhadzhyev, Ruslan 1961 births 2000 deaths Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights Chechen field commanders Chechen murder victims Chechen nationalists Chechen politicians Chechen victims of human rights abuses European Court of Human Rights cases involving Russia People of the Chechen wars Politicians of Ichkeria Prisoners who died in Russian detention Russian torture victims Chechen warlords Russian people of Chechen descent Chechen people North Caucasian independence activists