Father and widow of Umar Israilov evidence at Vienna court

The next hearing on the murder case of Umar Israilov, a former security guard of Chechen President held, was held on December 3. The court heard the main witnesses of the prosecution - Umar's father - the applicant to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and his widow.

Sharpudi Israilov doesn't deny that Umar was a member of a self-defence unit, organized by the youth of Mesker-Yurt village, who disagreed with the actions of the militaries, when the village was invaded by federal troops.

In 2004 Umar was detained by Agrun militiamen. After some time, his father learnt that Umar was serving for Ramzan Kadyrov. When Umar was appointed as the head of security department in the village of Mesker-Yurt, the father, according to his story, "could at last meet his son without witnesses."

The father and son had "a tough man's talk," in which the father told his son that if Umar scoffed at his fellow-villagers, the father would no longer consider him as his son. They decided then that Umar should leave Chechnya.

Two weeks later, after Umar had crossed the border with Poland, Sharpudi Israilov was detained at his work by his former colleagues from the security of the president of the republic. On the same day the mother of Umar Israilov and his wife's sister were detained.

The whereabouts of Umar Israilov was revealed, when they took away a mobile phone from one of detained women. And then Kadyrov, as Sharpudi asserts, called Umar himself and threatened to kill his father if he did not get back to Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by a member of an international coalition of human rights organizations that "it was especially hard for the widow to evidence at the moment when her husband was assassinated she was pregnant with their fourth child."

The next court session will be held on January 18, 2011. The tentative date of sentencing is January 25, 2011.