Information Centre Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship -Press release 22 January 2004
This is an unoffical translation from the Russian by Front Line
Spokespeople for the federal forces today informed members of the Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship of the death of their volunteer Aslan Davletukaev, committed between 10th and 16th of January 2004. The certain killing and grievous assault prior to death was well known to the ruling authorities (expressed in abbreviations DV) for some time, however until now a strict decree forbade the release of this information to the widespread community of NGOs, fearing retaliations of the family members. This decree was lifted today.
On January 10th 2004 around 2215 in the village of Avtur, Shalinsk region of the Chechen Republic, Aslan Sheripovich Davletukaev (born 1973) was kidnapped by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. At the time of the kidnapping, the victim was at home 41 Ordzhonikidze st. watching television with a friend, whose name is known to the editors and members of the state criminal department but we are not releasing at this moment for fears of his safety. There were around 50 kidnappers who arrived in three military and two civil vehicles marked ‘UAZ’, which are commonly known as ‘pills’ in the Caucuses. As stated by the witness, some of the kidnappers (7-8) wore masks, and those who didn’t had an Asiatic appearance. They all spoke Russian. Under gunpoint, the soldiers took only Asla Davletukaev away, although both men were beaten.
From the moment of the kidnapping, family members of Aslan as well as Imran Ezhiev, Hamzat Kuchiev and others from the Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship carried out searches for him through official and unofficial channels. Aslan’s father forbade SRCF to announce news of his son’s kidnapping to the media, as he hoped to find and free his son by paying ransom. Kidnappings for financial profiteering is common practise of the Russian and internal forces in the Chechen Republic.
On the morning of January 16th 2004 near a highway into Gudermes town, reconnaissance units of the Russian army found the body of Aslan Davletukaev bearing evidence of torture and mutilation. Aslan’s arms and legs were broken, others parts of his body punctured by a sharp metal object. Death was the result of a bullet wound in the back of the head.
On January 17th 2004, the body of Aslan Davletukaev was buried in the Avtur cemetery.
From the year of 2000, Aslan’s work was to systematically collect information on the human rights situation in Chechnya for SRCF. Therefore the Society does not exclude the possibility that his kidnapping and murder was as a result of his work.
Editorial of the Information Centre Russian-Chechen Friendship