Ustov: this year, law enforcers of Kabardino-Balkaria were attacked 74 times

This year, Kabardino-Balkaria registered 74 assaults on lives of law enforcers and militaries, Valery Ustov, the head of the Investigatory Department (ID) for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), said on November 17.

He noted at a press conference in Nalchik that the situation in the republic remains complex. This year, 70 suspected militants were liquidated, five times more than last year (16).

According to Mr Ustov, 20 liquidated suspected militants were active members of the armed underground; 44 of them are still searched. According to official data, the number of perished law enforcers made 27 persons (33 last year), and 32 more were injured (44 last year).

Ustov spoke about Mizievs and Shukov

Speaking about finished inquiries and cases sent to the court, Ustov highlighted the case of Miziev brothers, who had committed 11 arsons of shops in the Chegem District. The case is pending at the Supreme Court.

The investigation is also over; and the case sent to the court against ten persons, accused of creating an illegal armed formation (IAF), acquisition and possession of weapons and explosives, and of financing terrorism.

The Nalchik City Court has passed a sentence to Rustam Shukov, who had financed members of the armed underground, bought radio stations and rented housing for them. In total, he gave them 140,000 roubles. He was sentenced to 3.5 years of imprisonment.

"Tourists were killed near Elbrus because of surname"

Valery Ustov has also reported about solution of a number of high-profile and resonant crimes, in particular, the explosion of a ropeway triggered this February. According to investigators, the IAF member detained within this case gave detailed confessions.

According to Mr Ustov, the explosion was organized by the militants Buzdjigit Khajiev, Khusey Lokyaev and Magomet Zalikhanov, who were later killed during special operations.

Another resonant case - the murder of tourists from Moscow committed this February - was also solved. One of suspected attackers was killed during a special operation in the village of Progress, Stavropol Territory, on April 29 this year.

Valery Ustov said that the murder of tourists was provoked by the surname of one of the women-tourists.

"For several times the tourists telephoned to villages near Elbrus, coordinating their housing and transportation. During the conversation, they called their surnames, including the surname of one girl - Patrusheva. This explains the fact that bandits were purposefully looking for her, tried to take her away with them, and when she refused, they shot dead all of them," said Valery Ustov.

"Missing persons appear then in IAFs"

Mr Ustov also said that there are facts, when persons announced as missing are later found as members of illegal armed formations (IAFs).

Thus, according to his story, Islam Zhangurazov, a resident of the village of Verkhnyaya Zhemtala, was registered as missing; and his mother had stated that he was kidnapped by power agents. In fact, he, according to the data of the local department of the ICRF, he turned to be an active IAF participant.

Certain Shavaev and Kardanov were also regarded as disappearances; later they were killed during special operations.

Mr Ustov has suggested that juries should not consider, besides cases on terrorism, also the cases under all other articles of the Criminal Code relating to IAF activities.

Thus, a certain Malaev, who was acquitted by the jury, a month later was killed during a special operation. The examination showed that the firearms found on him were used to kill the Federal Judge Djulber Bykov and an employee of the Supreme Court Azret-Ali Sidakov.

"Those who surrender are guaranteed professional inquiry"

Speaking about connections of local IAF members with the international terrorist network, Valery Ustov said that such facts are not numerous, but they exist.

Thus, according to investigators, Aslan Emkuzhev, a resident of Nalchik, who was killed during a special operation, in 2007 took his training at a camp of the Lebanese terrorist organization named "Fatkh al-Islam".

The head of the ID for the KBR of the ICRF has admitted that so far nobody has responded to the appeal of the KBR leader Arsen Kanokov to IAF members to lay down arms, surrender and return to peaceful life.

"Our appeals have not yet yielded fruit; however, they are in force; and should anyone of them agree to surrender, we guarantee a qualified investigation with participation of an advocate, as well as physical immunity. They will also be able to conclude a pre-trial agreement that will significantly reduce the time bounds provided by the Criminal Code," said Mr Ustov.

"Observatory employees were killed by residents of Tyrnyauz and Saratov"

In the course of the press conference, Valery Ustov said that on October 6-7, in the course of a special operation held in the city of Tyrnyauz, two suspected militants Budaev by surname were killed. "They were not brothers," he said.

In the village of Neutrino, power agents killed Rustam Benigerov, 36, a resident of Tyrnyauz, and Minaev, a resident of the Saratov Region. According to investigators, they were involved in the murder of the spouses Guliev, employees of the Neutrino Observatory.

According to the ID for the KBR of the ICRF, Benigerov was also involved in the murder of the Cossack Ataman Vasily Sibiryatkin and explosion of the Eternal Flame Memorial in Tyrnyauz.

Valery Ustov has noted that 44 suspected militants are still searched. According to operative data, there are also 870 sympathizer and militants' helpers in the KBR.

"In total this year, 7002 crimes were registered in the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria, that is, by 20 crimes less than during the same period last year. The number of grave and especially grave crimes went down by 14 percent (2099 crimes against 2441 ones last year). However, the count of homicides went up by 7 percent (76 against 71). The number robberies and plunders went down (91 against 151, and 262 against 342, accordingly)," said Ustov.

IAF members killed 12 civilians.

Let us note here that according to calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", based on its own materials and information from open sources, in the NCFD, in the period from January 1 to September 14, 2011, at least 1007 persons became victims of the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. In 2011, 140 law enforcers perished in the course of shelling, bombings, armed clashes and direct attacks.

According to estimates of the "Caucasian Knot", in the period from January 1 to October 24, 2011, 72 suspected militants were liquidated in the KBR, 65 persons more were detained.

Let us remind you that on November 17, Rashid Nurgaliev, Russian Interior Minister, said at a sitting in Stavropol said that in total, within 10 months of 2011, the NCFD saw 350 terrorist crimes, including 213 fire attacks and 137 explosions.