Assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Encyclopedia
On February 13, 2004, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
was assassinated when a bomb ripped through his SUV
in the Qatar
i capital, Doha
. Yandarbiyev was seriously wounded and died in hospital. Two of his bodyguards were killed as well, and his 12-year-old son Daud was seriously injured.
It was initially unclear who was responsible for the blast, but suspicion fell on SVR
or GRU
, denying any involvement, or internal feuding among the Chechen rebel
leadership. Aslan Maskhadov
's separatist Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination as a "Russian terrorist attack", comparing it to the 1996 attack that killed Dzhokhar Dudayev. The car bomb
led to Qatar's first anti-terrorism law, declaring lethal terrorist acts punishable by death or life imprisonment
.
in the Russian embassy villa
for the murder
s. One of them, the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Qatar, Aleksandr Fetisov, was released in March allegedly due to his diplomatic status and the remaining two GRU agents: Anatoly Yablochkov (also known as Belashkov) and Vasily Pugachyov (sometimes misspelled as Bogachyov), were charged with the assassination of Yandarbiyev, assassination attempt of his son Daud and smuggling
weapons into Qatar. According to Moscow
, Yablochkov and Pugachyov were secret intelligence agents sent to the Russian Embassy in Doha to collect information about global terrorism. Russia’s acting Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov
pledged state support to the suspects and declared that their imprisonment was illegal. There were some speculations that Aleksandr Fetisov had been released in exchange for Qatari wrestlers detained in Moscow on February 28.
The trial proceedings were closed to the public after the defendants claimed that one of the prosecution witnesses, the Qatari Colonel
Dawi or Dawdi, had torture
d them in the first days after their arrest, when they had been held incommunicado; the two Russians alleged that they had suffered beatings, sleep deprivation
and attacks by guard dog
s. Based on these torture allegations and the fact that the two officers were arrested within an extraterritorial compound belonging to the Russian Embassy (i.e. effectively on Russian soil), Russia demanded the immediate release of its citizens; they were represented by the attorney
of the law firm founded by Nikolai Yegorov
, a friend and fellow student of Vladimir Putin
at Leningrad State University
. The Qatari prosecutors concluded that the suspects had received the order to eliminate Zelimkhan Yandarbiev from Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov personally. On June 30, 2004 both Russians were sentenced to life imprisonment
; passing the sentence, the judge
stated that they had acted on orders from the Russian leadership.
The verdict of the Doha court caused severe tensions between Qatar and Russia
, and on December 23, 2004, Qatar agreed to extradite the prisoners to Russia, where they would serve out their life sentence. The agents received a heroes' welcome on returning to Moscow in January 2005 but disappeared from public view shortly afterwards. The Russian prison authorities admitted in February 2005 that they were not in jail, but said that a sentence handed down in Qatar was "irrelevant" in Russia.
, one of the leading NTV
journalists, was fired from the channel allegedly for making public the decision of the channel direction that had forbidden him to present a TV interview with Malika Yandarbiyev, widow of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev.
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Zelimkhan Abdumuslimovich Yandarbiyev was a Chechen writer and a politician, who served as acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria between 1996 and 1997...
was assassinated when a bomb ripped through his SUV
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
in the Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
i capital, Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
. Yandarbiyev was seriously wounded and died in hospital. Two of his bodyguards were killed as well, and his 12-year-old son Daud was seriously injured.
It was initially unclear who was responsible for the blast, but suspicion fell on SVR
Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service is Russia's primary external intelligence agency. The SVR is the successor of the First Chief Directorate of the KGB since December 1991...
or GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
, denying any involvement, or internal feuding among the Chechen rebel
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
leadership. Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
's separatist Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination as a "Russian terrorist attack", comparing it to the 1996 attack that killed Dzhokhar Dudayev. The car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
led to Qatar's first anti-terrorism law, declaring lethal terrorist acts punishable by death or life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
.
Investigation and trial
On February 19, 2004, the Qatari authorities arrested three RussiansRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
in the Russian embassy villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s. One of them, the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Qatar, Aleksandr Fetisov, was released in March allegedly due to his diplomatic status and the remaining two GRU agents: Anatoly Yablochkov (also known as Belashkov) and Vasily Pugachyov (sometimes misspelled as Bogachyov), were charged with the assassination of Yandarbiyev, assassination attempt of his son Daud and smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
weapons into Qatar. According to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Yablochkov and Pugachyov were secret intelligence agents sent to the Russian Embassy in Doha to collect information about global terrorism. Russia’s acting Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and statesman. He was Minister of Defence from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008...
pledged state support to the suspects and declared that their imprisonment was illegal. There were some speculations that Aleksandr Fetisov had been released in exchange for Qatari wrestlers detained in Moscow on February 28.
The trial proceedings were closed to the public after the defendants claimed that one of the prosecution witnesses, the Qatari Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Dawi or Dawdi, had torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d them in the first days after their arrest, when they had been held incommunicado; the two Russians alleged that they had suffered beatings, sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
and attacks by guard dog
Guard dog
A guard dog, an attack dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals. The dog is discriminating so that it does not annoy or attack familiar people.-Barking:...
s. Based on these torture allegations and the fact that the two officers were arrested within an extraterritorial compound belonging to the Russian Embassy (i.e. effectively on Russian soil), Russia demanded the immediate release of its citizens; they were represented by the attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
of the law firm founded by Nikolai Yegorov
Nikolai Yegorov
Nikolay Dmitriyevich Yegorov was a Russian politician. He was the Governor of Krasnodar Kray in 1992 - 1994 and in 1996 - 1997, Minister for the Ethnic Affairs of the Russian Federation in 1994-1995 and the representative of the President of Russian Federation in Chechnya,the chief of the Russian...
, a friend and fellow student of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
at Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
. The Qatari prosecutors concluded that the suspects had received the order to eliminate Zelimkhan Yandarbiev from Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov personally. On June 30, 2004 both Russians were sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
; passing the sentence, the judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
stated that they had acted on orders from the Russian leadership.
The verdict of the Doha court caused severe tensions between Qatar and Russia
Qatar–Russia relations
Qatar–Russia relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Qatar and Russia.-Soviet-era relations:Following Saudi Arabia's lead, Qatar refused for many years to have diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. This changed in the summer of 1988, when diplomatic...
, and on December 23, 2004, Qatar agreed to extradite the prisoners to Russia, where they would serve out their life sentence. The agents received a heroes' welcome on returning to Moscow in January 2005 but disappeared from public view shortly afterwards. The Russian prison authorities admitted in February 2005 that they were not in jail, but said that a sentence handed down in Qatar was "irrelevant" in Russia.
Related events
On June 1, 2004, Leonid ParfyonovLeonid Parfyonov
Leonid Gennadievich Parfyonov is a Russian news anchor, journalist and an author of some popular TV shows. From December 3, 2004 until December 20, 2007 he was an Editor-in-Chief of the Russian edition of Newsweek....
, one of the leading NTV
NTV Russia
NTV is a Russian television channel. As a subsidiary of Vladimir Gusinsky's company Media-Most, it was a pioneer in the post-Soviet independent television media, but was later taken over by state-owned Gazprom.- History :...
journalists, was fired from the channel allegedly for making public the decision of the channel direction that had forbidden him to present a TV interview with Malika Yandarbiyev, widow of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev.