Khalid Karaf, a resident of Nalchik who had spent months trying to determine the fate of his missing son, was summoned—along with his wife and daughter—to the FSB headquarters, where they were informed that the son had died. *Kavkazsky Uzel* (Caucasian Knot) reported this, citing the man himself and a source within a Circassian organization.

According to the outlet, 30-year-old Nurdin Karaf had not been in contact with his relatives for about six months. His father explained that for a long time, the family believed his son was in Moscow, while relatives in Moscow thought he had stayed behind in Kabardino-Balkaria.

"He lived in Moscow; he visited me six months ago and then left. All that time, I thought he was in Moscow, while the Moscow relatives thought he was in Kabardino-Balkaria. Then I got a call from Moscow asking, 'When is he arriving?' I asked, 'Wait, isn't he with you?' That’s how I found out he had disappeared," Khalid Karaf told *Kavkazsky Uzel*.

After the man began contacting various agencies in search of his son, he received a call—by his account—from an unidentified person speaking Circassian. Karaf claims the caller threatened that his son would be "sent to the Special Military Operation as an assault trooper" and that if he did not stop pressing for answers, he himself would be sent "there too." The man also told the outlet that he was unable to trace the origin of the call and believes his son's disappearance was caused by his own public activity on social media.

Late in the evening on August 5, Khalid Karaf, his wife, and his daughter were summoned to the FSB, where—according to a representative of a Circassian organization—the family was informed of Nurdin's death. "As far as I know, they are now going to try to get Khalid to retract his statements regarding his son's disappearance. He himself is trying to secure the return of his son's body," a source told the publication on condition of anonymity.

As of the time of publication, there had been no official comments from Russian law enforcement or security agencies regarding Nurdin Karaf's fate or the circumstances of his death.