Elimination command

A year ago, Natalya Estemirova was killed. Major Versions

Natalya Estemirova was born into a Russian-Chechen family in the Saratov region. Graduated from the Faculty of History of Grozny University. Until 1998, she worked as a history teacher at school No. 9 in Grozny, then she took up human rights ...

Natalya Estemirova was born into a Russian-Chechen family in the Saratov region. Graduated from the Faculty of History of Grozny University. Until 1998, she worked as a history teacher at school No. 9 in Grozny, then she took up human rights journalism. At the beginning of the second Chechen war, she worked in Grozny, since 2000 - an employee of the representative office of the Human Rights Center "Memorial" in Grozny.

Natalya Estemirova was a member of the Commission on the conditions of detention in places of deprivation of liberty, fought against the falsification of criminal cases, visited pre-trial detention centers and actively fought against the practice of torture, conducted investigations into abductions and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya and the North Caucasus.

She was a correspondent for Novaya Gazeta.

Killed July 15, 2009.

Left a daughter.

The investigation into the murder of Natalya Estemirova has been going on for almost a year. There are no official results announced publicly. However, at the end of May, the head of the investigation team, Igor Sobol, presented a detailed report on the results of the investigation to the head of the Investigative Committee, Bastrykin. We know that Alexander Bastrykin was satisfied with the report.

We, friends and colleagues of Natasha, would also like to know the results of the official investigation. And ask questions to the investigation that we have accumulated over the year. We tried to get an interview. Investigator Sobol did not object. The most competent person in this matter, he also wrote to his superiors in a report: the interview can in no way interfere with the investigation, which, in fact, is over.

Interestingly, on June 12, Igor Sobol received permission from Alexander Bastrykin to meet with a correspondent for Novaya Gazeta. But on the appointed day, it turned out that Sobol was forbidden to communicate with journalists by his immediate superior, the head of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for the North Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts, Boris Karnaukhov.

We turned for clarification to the UPC - to Bastrykin. Vladimir Markin, head of the UK's media relations department, called Novaya on the same day. He said: "Alexander Ivanovich believes that the interview can prevent the killer from being caught."

Investigator Sobol must have been surprised when he heard about this argument.

At the moment, the militant Alkhazur Bashaev appears in the materials of the criminal case in the status of the only established killer of Natalya Estemirova. No interview can stop you from catching this man.

Alkhazur Bashaev is a dead militant. Destroyed during a special operation in Chechnya last autumn.

On July 14, 2009, I left Grozny after working in Chechnya for six days. I worked with Natasha and lived with her. As a witness to the last days of Natasha's life, I had to communicate a lot with the investigators. You could even say they became friends. But I never shared the hopes of her colleagues from Memorial that the investigation would go the right way.

True, there was reason to hope. The reasons for the murder of Natasha were too obvious, the murder itself was too arrogant and dirty, it caused too much international outcry. At that moment, the danger that had hung over Chechen human rights activists for many years suddenly became so acute that world-class politicians, for example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, were directly involved in saving the rest of the employees of the Grozny Memorial. At a meeting with our President Medvedev, she asked specific questions about specific people who were in mortal danger. It was thanks to the intervention of the German Chancellor and the President of Russia that Akhmed Gisaev, an employee of Memorial, who worked with Natasha Estemirova on all the latest cases of abductions and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya, was rescued.

There were too many cases. A whole wave of arbitrariness of the Chechen security forces covered the republic in the spring and summer of 2009. There were complaints. Perhaps that is why President Medvedev said that the main motive for the murder of Natasha was her professional activity. Human rights.

True, the president immediately made a reservation. In response to questions from German journalists, he said: the version of the direct involvement of the President of Chechnya in the murder of Natalya Estemirova is “primitive”. Natasha was killed by Kadyrov's enemies "in order to defame his image."

And it was a fork for the investigation: on the one hand, a human rights activist who fought against the arbitrariness of the Chechen security forces, on the other hand, the immunity of President Kadyrov.

To investigate the murder of Natalya Estemirova, on the instructions of Bastrykin, an investigation team is created, headed by a very experienced investigator, Igor Sobol. Igor Alexandrovich Sobol investigated almost all high-profile "Caucasian" cases - Chechnya, Beslan, Shamil Basayev's attack on Ingushetia in 2004, the attack on Nalchik in 2005, etc. He was a member of Konstantin Krivorotov's infamous investigation team throughout the Caucasus, which Anna Politkovskaya called "Krivorotov's brigade."

The heyday of the activities of the “Krivorotov brigade” fell on the second Chechen campaign. The investigators of this group had their own accounts for the Chechen fighters of the times of Dudayev - Maskhadov - Basaev. The Krivorotov Brigade turned out to be unnecessary when federal policy changed and Basayev's former associates, the Kadyrovs and Yamadayevs, came to power in Chechnya. But the scores, I think, have not gone away.

In the case of Natasha Estemirova, I was left with a strong impression that Igor Sobol hoped to the last that the team would still be given a command regarding the search for the real killers of Natasha and, concurrently, his old enemies.

From my personal communication with investigators, as well as from the testimony of Natasha’s fellow human rights activists — Svetlana Gannushkina, Oleg Orlov, Alexander Cherkasov, Tatyana Lokshina — there was complete confidence that for the first 5 months (from July to December 2009) the investigation was actively working on the only versions about the direct involvement in the murder of Estemirova of employees of the Chechen law enforcement agencies.

Now I can say that we were both wrong and right at the same time. The investigation really worked according to this version. But in a very strange way.

Accumulating facts, having received very important evidence and material evidence as a result of examinations, outlining the circle of suspects, the investigation suddenly froze.

For example, the eyewitnesses of Natasha's abduction, her housemates, were never identified and questioned. Employees of "Memorial" talked to them. Unfortunately, these witnesses were so scared that they refused to give their names. But it was quite possible to find them. The investigation simply did not make a real attempt. But it was extremely important. And that's why.

From the point of view of modern forensics, the case of the murder of Natasha Estemirova is not considered the most difficult. Because already at the first stage of the investigation, the DNA of the killers was obtained. This is a rarity in contract killings. A contract killing usually occurs without direct physical contact between the victim and the killer, the person is shot, and that's it. But Natasha was kidnapped first. It took at least four hours from the moment of the kidnapping to the execution. On the body of Natasha, in addition to multiple bullet wounds, hematomas were found. She resisted. That is why the experts, examining the body, were able to get "subungual content." And it was during his study that the DNA of the three perpetrators of this murder was obtained.

In order to confirm or deny the involvement of certain persons in this crime, the investigator is obliged to issue a decision on the seizure of samples (most often blood) for comparative analysis *.

As far as we know, no such decision has been issued in Natasha's case.

It was for this reason that it was extremely important (and, in general, not so difficult) to find eyewitnesses. Their testimony could have been the second piece of evidence in the process of identifying the abductors. But here, too, the investigation did nothing.

Why?

From the very first days, the investigators in the case of the murder of Natalya Estemirova came to the attention of employees of the Kurchaloevsky District Department of Internal Affairs of Chechnya - first of all, the head and deputy of the so-called special company at the Kurchaloevsky District Department of Internal Affairs and personally the head of the Kurchaloevsky District Department of Internal Affairs Khamzat Edelgiriev.

Before her death, Natalya Estemirova ran several cases.

— The abduction of the father and son of the Albekovs, committed by employees of the Kurchaloy District Department of Internal Affairs. Rizvan Albekov was exponentially shot in the village of Akhkinchu-Barzoy. His minor son Aziz was released after the murder of Natalya Estemirova.

- Abduction and disappearance (there are reasons to believe that these people were later shot) Nazhi Dzhabikhadzhiev, Aslan Eldarov, Dzhabir Zakriev. According to the testimony of the father of one of the abductees, employees of the special squad of the Kurchaloy District Department of Internal Affairs were involved in this case.

— Kidnapping of Apti Zaynalov and Zelimkhan Khadzhiev by law enforcement officers of Chechnya. This is a proven fact, a criminal case has been initiated. Zainalov's whereabouts are still unknown; Khadzhiev was released after Natasha's death.

- The abduction by Chechen security forces with the help of Moscow special services at Domodedovo Airport of Maskhud Abdullaev, the son of Doka Umarov's right hand - Supyan Abdullaev. He was also released after Estemirova's death.

Natasha's interference in any of these cases could have been the motive for her murder.

That spring and summer, the Human Rights Center "Memorial" began to apply a new method of rescuing the abducted - to apply for each case to Strasbourg under the so-called urgent procedure. This means that on the day of receipt (by fax) of the complaint, the European Court forwarded these materials to the representative of the Russian Federation and to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. During the described period of time, the number of such complaints increased sharply, which caused a strong reaction in Moscow.

On July 7, 2009, officers of the special security forces of the Kurchaloy District Department of Internal Affairs kidnap the father and son of the Albekovs. Rizvan Albekov is shot on the same day, residents of the village of Akhkinchu-Barzoi are present at the execution.

On July 9, 2009, Natalya Estemirova gives an interview to the "Caucasian Knot" in which she openly declares that a new wave of violence has begun in Chechnya. In this interview, Natalya Estemirova named the names of specific Chechen security officials (including employees of the Kurchaloy District Department of Internal Affairs), who, in her opinion, were involved in the kidnappings and murders.

On July 10, 2009, Nurdi Nukhazhiev, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Chechnya, summoned the head of the Grozny "Memorial" to a meeting, Natasha also went there. In front of local television cameras, Nukhazhiev accused Memorial employees of slandering the republic with their actions. In her testimony given at the trial in the civil suit of Ramzan Kadyrov against human rights activist Oleg Orlov, Human Rights Watch representative in Russia Tatyana Lokshina recounts Nurdi Nukhazhiev's conversation with Memorial representatives: warning human rights activists, Nukhazhiev said that if Anna Politkovskaya had been more careful she would be alive now and doing a good job**. At the same time, Nurdi Nukhazhiev did not say a word about the extrajudicial execution of Rizvan Albekov and a whole series of kidnappings and murders that swept the republic in those days.

On July 15, 2009, Natasha is killed.

Two weeks after her murder, the kidnapped Albekov, Khadzhiev and Abdullaev are released. Sobol's group did not find or question any of these witnesses. Although the investigators worked behind the scenes on all the cases that Natasha handled shortly before her death. And it is clear why - it was these cases that could have caused her murder.

Over the course of a year, I heard the same arguments from the investigators: the witnesses are afraid to give us evidence under the protocol, what can we do? On August 14, 2009, even the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, said: “The investigation of cases, including the murder of Natalya Estemirova, is difficult. Many people today are afraid to cooperate with the investigation.”

I must say, not only mere mortals are afraid. Even people in positions of power, for example, representatives of the prosecutor's office of Chechnya, do the same.

After the extrajudicial execution in Akhkinchu-Barzoi, the relatives of Rizvan Albekov managed to force representatives of the Grozny prosecutor's office to come to the village. Prosecutors examined and photographed the corpse. And then the employees of the Kurchaloy District Department of Internal Affairs arrived in the village. After their “visit”, relatives wrote a paper that Rizvan Albekov had died of a stroke. And the photographs taken by the prosecutors disappeared without a trace from the case.

Investigator Sobol tried to exhume the body of Rizvan Albekov. However, the court of Vladikavkaz refused him. Ivan Sydoruk, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, prohibited the investigator from appealing the refusal in a higher court. The pretext is that it is necessary to “observe jurisdiction”, that is, to apply with a petition to the court of Grozny. Igor Sobol, apparently, took this implicit order to "hush up" the issue of exhumation. He did not appeal to the Grozny court. He said to me: “Yes, what Grozny court would have authorized this exhumation for us?”

Officially, the investigation into these abductions and extrajudicial executions was and continues to be conducted by employees of the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya. There are no results so far.

And so I have three questions for the UPC RF.

1) For a real investigation into the murder of Estemirova, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation could transfer the investigation of all the latest cases of Natasha to the Sobol group. This was not done. Why?

2) It seems to me that there is no need to explain the importance of the testimony abducted by Chechen policemen and released after the murder of Natasha - Aziz Albekov, Zelimkhan Khadzhiev, Maskhud Abdullaev. Why weren't even these people involved in the witness protection program?

3) Why were samples not seized for comparative DNA analysis according to two versions: from the employees of the Kurchaloevsky District Department of Internal Affairs and the murdered militant Bashaev, especially since all of them are quite accessible?

The lawyer representing the interests of Natasha's relatives got access to the case materials when the investigation already had a version about the Shalazhinsky Jamaat.

The construction of this version began in January 2010, the investigation took a passive position in this process, giving the main role to the FSB. We have been following the development of this version. It was the FSB that provided all the materials about the Shalazhinsky Jaamat, up to the “live fighter” (Igor Sobol said so: “We even have a live fighter!”).

The version is based on the fact that the heads of Memorial's newsletter on the North Caucasus were found in Natasha's computer confiscated by the investigation (Natasha compiled and edited the Chechen part of it). The bulletin contained two unnamed (unsigned) messages about militants from the village of Shalazhi. Alkhazur Bashaev and Baudi Akhtakhanov appeared in the messages.

Then, in January, in the village of Shalazhi, they found a cache with a pistol from which Natasha was shot;

Three weeks later, in Grozny, in the basement of one of the private houses, they already find a car - a white "seven". All the necessary examinations are carried out on the car (including the detection of traces of blood, hair and other biological substances, as well as microparticles of clothing - they should have been if Natasha was kidnapped on this car). However, neither fingerprints suitable for identification, nor traces of a struggle in the interior of the car could be found. But in the trunk they found a whole muffler. The investigation conducted an examination (for the silencer to match the piece of rubber that was found at the scene of Natalia's murder). The examination showed full compliance.

Next is the former owner of the discovered “seven”, who identifies Alkhazur Bashaev as the person to whom he sold his “seven”.

Further, the investigation is looking for a motive. Investigators are interrogating residents of the village of Shalazhi, who testify that at the end of April Natasha Estemirova came to their village to collect material about the Shalazhinsky jamaat. One of the investigators read these statements to me.

But here the investigation, in its desire to build a beautiful version based on pure luck (they found the barrel, and the photo ID, and the silencer, and the car, and the witnesses suddenly stopped being afraid and started talking!), makes a puncture.

No one from Memorial is asked about Natasha's trip to Shalazhi, although Natasha's colleagues have been actively cooperating and helping the investigation for many months.

Only when the memorialists learn that the Shalazhinsky Jamaat, for which she allegedly actively worked, appears in the murder of Natasha, Alexander Cherkasov, Shakhman Akbulatov, Varvara Pakhomenko, Tatyana Lokshina declare the opposite and are ready to give their evidence to the investigation. Natasha did not go to Shalazhi at the end of April 2009, and information about Shalazhi was obtained from other sources. The investigation records the testimony of only one witness - Alexander Cherkasov.

At the moment the situation is as follows.

With the “Kurchaloev” version completely unworked out, the investigation put forward a version about the militants: “July 15, 2009, at about 07:30 ... Bashaev A.A. and other unidentified persons with the use of physical force placed Estemirova N.Kh. into a white VAZ-2107 car, in which they took her to a forest <...>, where they killed her, inflicting many gunshot wounds to her head and torso.

One question does not give rest. What did the militants do with Natasha for the whole 4 hours that passed from the moment of abduction to the moment of execution? Rode around Grozny and its environs with a desperately resisting woman? There are no traces of long torture and bullying. Somehow it doesn't fit in my head...

But I understand what real killers could expect.

Elimination teams.

* Art. 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation "Obtaining samples for a comparative study"

1. The investigator has the right to obtain handwriting samples or other samples for comparative study from the suspect, accused, as well as from a witness or victim in cases where it became necessary to check whether they left traces in a certain place or on material evidence, and draw up a protocol in accordance with Articles 166 and 167 of this Code <…>.

3. The investigator shall issue a resolution on the receipt of samples for a comparative study. In necessary cases, obtaining samples is carried out with the participation of specialists.

** From the testimony of witness Tatyana Lokshina at the trial of the lawsuit filed by Ramzan Kadyrov against the human rights center "Memorial" and Oleg Orlov for the protection of honor, dignity and compensation for moral damage, given in the Tverskoy Court of Moscow on September 25, 2009.