Employee of Chechen MIA who shot his colleagues by mistake to face trial

In Chechnya, the law enforcer, who shot dead his two colleagues in summer of 2009, when he took them for militants, will face justice. He is under threat of a criminal punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to seven years.

"Yakub Tazurkaev, an employee of the patrol-sentry service (PSS-2) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the republic, accused of murdering two other militiamen, who were in Chechnya on official trip, will face trial. Mr Tazurkaev is accused of committing a crime stipulated by Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Negligence")," a source in law enforcement bodies of the republic has reported.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by the source that on July 30, 2009, in the Achkhoy-Martan District, employees of the PSS-2 conducted operative actions aimed to search members of the armed underground. The militiamen possessed data that militants used a "Niva" car. It was supposed that Said Buryatskiy (Alexander Tikhomirov), one of militants' ideologists, could be in the searched car.

"On that day, Tazurkaev was in command of a mobile group. Not far from the administration of Valerik village, Achkhoy-Martan District, militiamen saw a 'Niva' car with two men inside. Tazurkaev took one of them for the so-called Sheikh Said Buryatskiy and opened fire to kill from his sub-machine gun on the car. His subordinates followed him. Later it became clear that two MIA agents who were in Chechnya on service were in that 'Niva'," said the source.