Murders and kidnappings in Roshni-Chu, Kurchaloy and Grozny, “cleansing” and protests in Samashki

June 3, 2001

***
At about 2 am in the village of Roshni-Chu, Urus-Martan district, unknown people in camouflage uniforms and masks called Khusni Mudayev out of the house and shot him with automatic weapons. The car VAZ-2121 "Niva" belonging to him was also riddled with bullets. During the first Russian-Chechen war, as part of the armed formations of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, he fought against the Russian army. He did not take part in the second war, he lived in the village and did housework.


Due to the high prestige that he enjoyed among the locals, he still could not stay away from the ongoing events. He often joined in the resolution of various kinds of conflict situations that arose with the Russian military. Repeatedly engaged in the release of people captured during the “cleansings”.


After the massacre of him, unknown people went to the house of Makharbek Zakayev and called him outside in the Chechen language. But Razet, his wife and sister of the murdered Husni Mudayev, came out. Unknown people told her that her brother urgently needed help. At that time Makharbek Zakayev also left the house. The criminals opened fire on him with machine guns. As a result of his injuries, he died on the spot. Razet Zakayeva was seriously wounded. The next day she was taken to the Urus-Martan district hospital, where she underwent an operation.
 
***


At about 3 p.m., Dzhabrail Sayd-Khusinovich (Sayt-Khuseynovich) Abdusalamov, born in 1977, was taken away from his own house in the center of the village of Kurchaloy in an armored personnel carrier. Together with him, a local resident, Betersultanov, was also captured there. As it turned out later, the detention was carried out by employees of the commandant's office of the Kurchaloy district and servicemen of the 33rd operational brigade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation stationed on the outskirts of the regional center. They were led by an officer who at that time served as the chief of staff of the commandant's office.


On June 13, Betersultanov was released. He said that before his transfer to the VOVD of the district, they were kept together with Abdusalamov in the building of the commandant's office. Relatives turned there, but the military claimed that during the arrest they seized a pistol from Dzhabrail Abdusalamov and therefore, on June 6, they opened a criminal case against him. His number 39280 was also named. According to the military, for further investigative actions, they handed over the detainee to the employees of the temporary department. However, the police categorically refused to admit that they had a person with that name.


Further searches for Dzhabrail Abdusalamov further confused the situation. It turned out that the district prosecutor's office did not know anything about him or about the criminal case. In mid-October 2002, the prosecutor's office only checked the facts presented by the relatives. At the beginning of April 2004, the HRC "Memorial" did not have any additional information about his fate.

***
Akhmed Lemayevich Idigov, born in 1968, was shot in the head in the central market of Grozny by unknown people. He was a resident of the village of Starye Atagi, Grozny region, and worked in Russian law enforcement structures. The same people killed his colleague, a Chechen. The name and place of residence of the latter could not be established.
  
***
Officers of the military commandant's office and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for the Achkhoy-Martan district during a targeted "cleansing" in the village of Samashki detained four young people. They were immediately put into UAZ vehicles and driven through the neighboring village of Sernovodsk towards the regional center (the names of the detainees were not released at the request of their relatives).


Unable to prevent the arrest itself, the villagers rushed after the employees of the Russian law enforcement agencies. The road to the south, which connects Samashki with Achkhoy-Martan directly, was blocked that day. Heavy rains on the outskirts of the village washed away the bridge across the Sunzha River, and the passage of vehicles over it became impossible. For the same reason, the thieves also went by the circuitous route.


But it was easy to cross the bridge on foot. The villagers did just that. On the other side of the river, they got into passing cars and, as it turned out later, much earlier than those who carried out the “cleansing” (after passing Sernovodsk, they still had to go to the Rostov-Baku highway, then drive past two other settlements, and only after that turn to Achkhoy-Martan), we got to the regional center.

Here, near the building of the military commandant's office of the Achkhoi-Martan district, the residents of Samashki staged a picket demanding the release of unreasonably detained young people. At that moment, quite unexpectedly for them, several UAZ-469 and UAZ-452 cars (the so-called tablet) drove up at high speed, in which there were employees of law enforcement agencies who were conducting a “cleansing” operation in their village. The picketers, mostly women, took advantage of their advantage.


Not allowing them to enter the territory of the commandant's office, they stopped the cars and then threw stones and fragments of bricks at them. Several UAZs lost their windows. Due to the violent indignation shown by fellow villagers, the captured young people were eventually released. They were released right on the street, after which the picketing of the commandant's office was stopped, and its participants went home.

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

Последние новости
Georgia Expects to Avoid Sanctions: Kulevi Port Data Provided to European Commission
Politics
Georgia Expects to Avoid Sanctions: Kulevi Port Data Provided to European Commission
23 February 2026

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the European Commission has been provided with complete and reliable information on the activities of the Kulevi port, confirming compliance with the sanctions regime. The statement came amid discussions of the 20th EU sanctions package against Russia, which, according to media reports, may include the Georgian port.

Azerbaijan has again donated humanitarian aid to Ukraine
Politics
Azerbaijan has again donated humanitarian aid to Ukraine
23 February 2026

As part of its humanitarian assistance, Ukraine received a new shipment of energy equipment from Azerbaijan worth a total of $1 million. The handover was attended by Azerbaijani Ambassador to Ukraine Mardaliyev, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Mishchenko, and the Deputy Ministers of Energy and Health.

82 years ago, the Chechens and Ingush were forcibly deported
News
82 years ago, the Chechens and Ingush were forcibly deported
23 February 2026

February 23, 1944, marked a dark date in the history of two peoples of the North Caucasus: on the orders of Joseph Stalin, the total deportation of the Chechens and Ingush began. Half a million people were forcibly uprooted from their homes and sent into exile in Central Asia and Siberia.

A destroyed memorial plaque to Anna Politkovskaya has been restored in Moscow
Human rights
A destroyed memorial plaque to Anna Politkovskaya has been restored in Moscow
23 February 2026

Activists in Moscow have installed a memorial plaque for the 21st time in honor of Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in 2006. The plaque, which reads, "Anna Politkovskaya lived in this house and was vilely murdered on October 7, 2006," has previously been destroyed by unknown assailants. Activists intend to continue restoring it until it remains in place forever.