Maskhadov's 'host' allegedly killed

Musa Yusupov whom federal forces detained because President Aslan Maskhadov of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria had lived in his house has been found dead, according to Marsho.dk. The residents of Doykur-Aul (Tolstoy-Yurt) who found the body say it bore marks of torture.

Besides the master of the house, his relatives are also reported to have been taken hostage, including Azim Yusupov, a well-known 67-year-old Chechen poet and writer. Their destiny remains unknown.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office denies the information that the master of the house in which separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov hid has been found dead. "Reports that the master of the house where Maskhadov hid are not based on facts. Skander Yusupov, b. 1957, resident in Tolstoy-Yurt, is now in custody in a North Caucasus pre-trial detention centre," says Konstantin Krivorotov, an investigator at the North Caucasus Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.

An officer at the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs says, "Musa Yusupov, the master of the house where Maskhadov hid and the Ichkeria leader's three closest accomplices were detained on 8 March. To the best of my knowledge, they are in a pre-trial detention centre currently. Besides those people, no one of Yusupov's close relatives has been detained. His wife and daughter were released right after an interrogation at the district police department, and another close relative of his, writer Azim Yusupov, is currently at home too." The officer believes the Ichkeria side spreads this information deliberately.

"According to Chechen traditions, tezet (a funeral ceremony - ed.) would be performed in Yusupov's house or in his relatives' house if he were really dead. But it is not currently," the officer explains.

Meanwhile, some people in Tolstoy-Yurt claim Musa Yusupov was really found dead in the vicinity of the village a few days ago. The Yusupov family has been living at their relatives' since their house was destroyed. No funeral ceremony has been performed there though.

Human rights activists express doubt concerning the authorities' motives, International Herald Tribune notes. The newspaper also points out Yakha Yusupova denies Maskhadov's presence in her house and suspects Russian special services may have delivered him there on Tuesday.

Anna Politkovskaya, the well-known journalist and Chechnya expert, says the house was most likely been blown up to destroy all evidence that could question the official version of Maskhadov's death.

Kommersant newspaper also notes the explosion destroyed all possible evidence of the operation on 8 March. This, as well as the refusal of the authorities to allow Maskhadov's relatives to bury him, only confirms the rumour that the Ichkeria president may have died in quite a different manner from what the Regional Operations Headquarters describes.

• More details of Maskhadov's death