The abduction of a fighter of the pro-Russian riot police of the Chechen Republic in Urus-Martan, the murder of the Chukaev brothers in the village. Geldagan and the raid on the Pedagogical Institute in Grozny

May 26, 2001

***
At dawn, the home of Yunus Makaev, a fighter of the OMON of the Chechen Republic, who lives in the city of Urus-Martan on Bolnichnaya Street, was rushed by officers of the local VOVD. The policemen were rude. Without introducing themselves or explaining the motives of their actions, they searched the premises. The owner of the house demanded from them the sanction of the prosecutor's office, after which the policemen began to act even more unbridled. Trying to especially humiliate the human dignity of the riot policeman, in the presence of his mother and wife, they began to swear.

Yunus Makaev was holding his service ID in his hands all the time. Saying it was fake, they put a canvas bag over his head, handcuffed him, and took him away. On the same morning, the detainee was taken to the building of the boarding school, where the temporary department of the Urus-Martan district is located. During interrogations, he was beaten.

Russian police officers, for example, asked the following questions: “Do you know Basayev?”, “What can you tell the investigation about Khattab?” But they were interested in a completely different person - his classmate. When finally asked about him, the abducted riot policeman said that he once studied with him in the same class. This fact turned out to be enough to accuse him of participation in the armed formations of the CRI and severely beat him.

The abuse of the detainee continued for several hours, and then the policemen "have mercy" and offered to pay 500 US dollars and hand over four machine guns. This amount was paid by relatives only two days later. Yunus Makaev from the “boarding school” was released.

***
At about 2 a.m. in the village of Geldagan, Kurchaloevsky district, the Russian military broke into the relatives of the previously killed head of the local administration Saikhan (Azar) Edilkhanovich Chukaev, born in 1949, and killed his brothers: Nazhmutdin, born in 1952, and Naju, born in 1954

Another of the brothers, Saipa Chukaev, survived due to the fact that at that time he was playing backgammon with a neighbor and stayed there until late. The military men who broke into the house tried to find out from the wife where he was, but she did not betray her husband. Leaving the house, they first shot with machine guns the bed on which the person they were looking for usually slept, and then all the furniture.

After the murder of the Saipa brothers, Edilkhanovich Chukaev did not spend the night at home and, fearing an ambush, did not dare to show himself there even during the day. And yet, less than a week later, the Russian military killed him. It happened in the afternoon on one of the streets of the village of Geldagan.

***
The Russian military pogromed the building of the Pedagogical Institute in the city of Grozny. About 60 people, who arrived in two APCs and a Ural vehicle, overturned furniture in the premises, threw flower pots on the floor, and trampled books.

Without explaining to anyone the reasons for their visit, the military soon left.


From the book "People Live Here", Usam Baisaev, Dmitry Grushkin, 2006

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