Visa Kungaev does not associate Budanov's murder with vengeance for his daughter's death

The assassination of former colonel Yuri Budanov has nothing to do with the death of Elza Kungaeva, which caused Budanov's conviction in 2003, as Visa Kungaev, the girl's father, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by telephone from Norway.

On July 25, 2003, the court found Budanov guilty of kidnapping and murdering a Chechen girl Elza Kungaeva and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment. Investigators also had evidences that the girl was raped before her death; however, later the investigation failed to consider that incident. In January 2009, Budanov was released from prison under the CER (conditional early relief) procedure and was killed on June 10, 2011, in Moscow by four pistol shots in his head.

Visa Kungaev said that he had learned about Budanov's murder from media reports. "This is not revenge for Elza Kungaeva; I should have taken revenge for her. But should I have wanted to do it, I wouldn't have gone to court. I am a law-abiding person. I think it could be a provocation or some criminal showdowns. I don't know what Budanov was doing after he was released. He had many enemies at home, among his associates. I think investigators will quickly solve the case – the car was found; and there're surveillance cameras," he said.

Kheda Saratova, a rights defender and the head of the "Objective" Information-Analytical Centre, tends to the version of the "Chechen trace" in Budanov's murder.

"I took part in Budanov's trials and lived through all that horror with the Kungaev family; that's why I think it's the 'Chechen trace'," said Saratova.