Austrian police not sure of political motive in Umarov's murder

The killing in Vienna of Mamikhan Umarov, a refugee from Chechnya, might have been a contract murder or motivated by a domestic conflict, the Austrian police announce contrary to the statements voiced by members of the Chechen Diaspora. A lawsuit based on the Mamikhan Umarov's death may be filed against the Austrian authorities for their failure to provide the protection for the asylum seeker from Chechnya, believes Khusein Iskhanov, a member of the Chechen Diaspora.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that two natives of Chechnya who have been living in Europe with refugee status for more than 15 years are arrested in Austria on suspicion of involvement in the murder of blogger Mamikhan Umarov.

So far, neither secret services nor the police have formulated the main version of the murder, reports Johann Baumschlager, the spokesman for the Police Department of the Lower Austria region. "We do not exclude that, on the one hand, we are talking about a contract murder, or, on the other hand, that a quarrel might have flared up there," Johann Baumschlager said at a press conference.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed by Khusein Iskhanov, the head of the "Ichkeria Cultural Association", registered in Austria, that his NGO is preparing an action to be held in front of the Austrian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) with the demand to investigate the murder of Mamikhan Umarov "at the highest level." "The Austrian Minister of Internal Affairs announced in public that the crime is politically motivated. Such kind of crimes cannot be left unsolved," Khusein Iskhanov said.

Family members of Mamikhan Umarov are unlikely to sue the Austrian authorities, like family members of Umar Israilov, who was killed in Vienna, Khusein Iskhanov believes.

"Of course, there are grounds for filing a lawsuit. In one of his interviews, Mamikhan Umarov said: 'If something happens to me, I blame the Austrian law enforcement agencies.' But to file a specific lawsuit, a person is to know the language and be publicly active. For now, we haven't noticed such activities of the Mamikhan Umarov's family members," Khusein Iskhanov emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 9, 2020 at 03:24 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.