Akhmed Chatayev

Akhmed Rajapovich Chatayev (born July 1980, Vedeno)[1] is a Chechen Islamic State leader who is thought to have been the planner of the 2016 Istanbul airport attack.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

History

He was born 14 Jul 1980 in Vedeno village, Vedenskiy District, the Republic of Chechnya, Russia.[8]

Second Chechen War

He participated in the Second Chechen War and lost his arm in the battle.[9]

Asylum in Austria-2003

He then fled Russia in 2001 to Austria where he was granted refugee status in 2003.

Arrest/imprisonment in Sweden-2008

In 2008 he and several other Chechens were detained in the Swedish town of Trelleborg. Police found weapons in his car and he spent more than a year spent in a local prison.

Ukraine detention-2010

On 3 January 2010, he was detained in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine. According to Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, his mobile phone contained instructions for explosives, as well as photographs of those killed in explosions. He faced extradition to Russia but on 14 January, after strong protests by Amnesty International, which claimed he could face torture if he was returned to Russia, the European Court of Human Rights called upon the Ukrainian authorities not to extradite him.[10][11]

Georgia

Since the European Court of Human Rights forbade his deportation to Russia, the Ukrainians sent him to Georgia where he was accused of a certain crime committed in the 2000s. For a while he was probably held in Georgian prison but then was freed, got married and stayed in Georgia.

Bulgarian-Turkish border-2011

On 19 May 2011, he was detained at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The Bulgarian court first ruled to extradite him to Russia, but the appellate court reversed the decision.

Georgia 2012

In late August 2012 he was involved in the Lopota incident, a skirmish between the Georgian police and militants at Lopota Gorge in Georgia, near the border with Dagestan. On September 8 the Interior Ministry announced they had detained Akhmed after he was wounded, accusing him of being part of the militant group. His injured foot had to be amputated. Police found two F-1 grenades and charged him with illegal possession of weapons. At this time he was in possession of Georgian citizenship.

He lived in the village Duisi in the Pankisi Gorge, formerly home to Abu Omar al-Shishani, an Islamic State leader.

In January 19, 2013 he was acquitted of all charges stemming from the August 2012 encounter with police.[12]

Syria

He traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State in February 2015.

UN sanctions

On 02 October 2015 he was made subject to sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. According to the UN, "In September 2007, Chataev organized a delivery to the Chechen Republic, Russian Federation, consisting of US $ 12,000, military uniforms, a personal computer and audio equipment for the terrorists operating in the Northern Caucasus." Further, it is alleged, "He directly commands 130 militants and calls on Muslims to join the armed fight against the official authorities in Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq, and other countries with the aim of establishing a caliphate. Chataev is responsible for training and redeploying Russian-speaking ISIL militants from the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq to the Russian Federation with a view to setting up ISIL cells and conducting terrorist acts. He is the organizer and mastermind of planned ISIL terrorist acts against Russian diplomatic missions abroad."[13]

References

  1. Boris Rozhin (1 July 2016). "Akhmed Chatayev: An Inconvenient "Fighter against Russia"". South Front. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. Faith Karimi (1 July 2016). "Istanbul airport terror attack: Two bombers identified, state news agency says". CNN. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  3. Will Stewart. "ISIS recruiter Akhmed Chataev settled in Turkey after fleeing Russia 12 years ago". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  4. "Istanbul airport attack: One-armed Akhmed Chataev reportedly behind Ataturk massacre". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. William M. Arkin. "Chechen Akhmed Chatayev Is Called Suspected Planner of Istanbul Attack". NBC News. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. Charles Miranda. "Istanbul terror attack: one-armed Chechen Akhmed Chatayev a suspect". News.com.au. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  7. "Turkish government does not confirm Akhmed Chatayev's participation in Ataturk Airport attack". InterpressNews. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  8. https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20151005.aspx
  9. "The one-armed Recruiter Brief biography of Ahmed Chatayev". Meduza. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  10. "Chechen Risks Torture if Returned to Russia". Amnesty International. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  11. "The short history of "Russian" terrorist Ahmet Chatayev". Reddit. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  12. https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ru&u=http://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/218860/&usg=ALkJrhgx3ipHAr2bNXbmqRggsHPY22rotg
  13. https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/akhmed-rajapovich-chataev
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