Investigators do not rule out that Rashidbek Shamsudinov kidnapped in Dagestan was killed

A criminal case under the article of murder has been opened on the fact of disappearance at night on March 26 of Rashidbek Shamsudinov, a resident of Khasavyurt. This was reported by his advocates; and the investigatory division confirmed the information.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the evening on March 26 Rashidbek Shamsudinov, according to his relatives, was visiting a friend - he drove out, but never reached his friend's house, though the trip takes 10 minutes. According to Alibulat Khakimov, the father-in-law of the disappearance, Rashidbek had earlier worked in the police; then he left the service, got engaged in commerce and was registered with the police as a follower of Salafism.

Alibulat Khakimov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the whereabouts of Rashidbek Shamsudinov is still unknown.

According to Khakimov, the material about Rashidbek Shamsudinov's kidnapping is at the Investigatory Committee of Khasavyurt in hands of investigator Arslan Ataev. "No actions were taken to locate Rashidbek. The work that needs to be done by investigators is done by relatives and advocates. The lawyers hired by me have found several eyewitnesses of Rashidbek's kidnapping by security forces. Even after all this the investigation has failed interrogating a single witness, neither me nor my daughter, Rashidbek's wife," said Alibulat Khakimov.

"The fact that the investigating authorities fail to investigate Rashidbek's kidnapping was reported by us to law enforcement bodies. On April 2, we sent appeals to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Dagestan, as well as to the head of the FSB in Dagestan asking for assistance in locating Rashidbek Shamsudinov," said Alibulat Khakimov and added that so far no response had arrived.

According to Khakimov, on April 15, he turned for help to the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" and the Committee "Civil Assistance" by sending his written requests there.

The requests say that Rashidbek Shamsudinov was a Salafist, "but he was against the war in Dagestan and took active steps to end the war."

"On arrival in Dagestan, Rashidbek began explaining people that Dagestan has no grounds for jihad. However, he was kidnapped; and it's clear that it was done by power agents. There are eyewitnesses of the kidnapping, who claim that he was taken by special agents," says Alibulat Khakimov's application to human rights activists.

Adilgerey Omarov, a lawyer of the law firm "Omarov & Co." told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the Khasavyurt inter-district investigatory division of the Investigatory Department of the ICRF in Dagestan had opened a criminal case about the disappearance of Rashidbek Shamsudinov under Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code (murder).

In his turn, the investigator Arslan Ataev denied reports that he ran the case about Shamsudinov's disappearance. "I can't comment on the case, which I don't investigate," said Arslan Ataev.