19 November 2010, 22:10
Austrian court wants to question President of Chechnya on Israilov's murder
The Vienna Court, which is hearing the murder case of Umar Israilov, a former bodyguard of President of Chechnya, assassinated in Austria, wants to interrogate the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov by means of a videoconference.
Judge Frederick Forsthuber asked one of the defenders Rudolf Mayer to clarify whether Kadyrov is ready to take part in the trial, the RIA "Novosti" reports.
According to investigators, Mr Kadyrov may be implicated in the murder; as Israilov had accused him of torture and kidnappings. There are three Chechens in the prisoner's dock - Turpal Ali Esherkaev, Suleiman Dadaev and Otto Kaltenbrunner.
The photos presented to the court by Prosecutor Leopold Bien show the defendant and President of Chechnya dressed informally and embracing each other. The investigation considers Kadyrov to be the customer of the murder; however, there are no tangible evidences to accuse him. The Prosecutor's Office has also confirmed that investigators found a link between Kaltenbrunner and Shaa Turlaev - a man from Ramzan Kadyrov's closest retinue.
Ramzan Kadyrov himself has repeatedly asserted that he had nothing to do with Israilov's murder, and believes all the allegations against him to be a provocation.
