Tsokov: killings of Imams in Northern Caucasus remain uninvestigated

A year after the murder of Ibragim Dudarov, Deputy Mufti of North Ossetia, there is no information about the course of the inquiry, said Khadjimurat Gatsalov, Co-Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia. Felix Tsokov, a former investigator of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) in North Ossetia, also said that in Russia as a whole, same as in Northern Caucasus, murder of Imams remain uninvestigated.

Ibragim Dudarov was killed late in the evening on December 26, 2012, on his way home. His body with multiple gunshot wounds was found in the car on the road from Vladikavkaz to the village of Chmi.

Investigators fail to provide any information about the inquiry into the murder of Ibragim Dudarov, said Khadjimurat Gatsalov.

"There are no results; and nobody gives any information. As I suspected, the inquiry took the form of imitation of activities. Instead of looking for criminals, they checked for six months the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM), the system of hajj and organization of tours," Khadjimurat Gatsalov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The inquiry into Ibragim Dudarov's murder is in dead-lock, said Felix Tsokov, a former head of the division on special cases of the Investigating Department for North Ossetia of the ICRF.

"Last year, about 40 Imams were killed in Russia; most of them remain unsolved. For me, as an investigator, there are only two conclusions: either the state stands behind these killings, or the Russia's investigative mechanism is completely dysfunctional," said Felix Tsokov.