11:30, 1 June 2021

Case of Byutukaev's alleged ally reaches court

The Southern District Military Court. Photo by Konstantin Volgin for the "Caucasian Knot"

The Southern District Military Court has received materials of the case of Turpal-Ali Dzeitov, a native of Ingushetia, accused of involvement in the terrorist organization "Imarat Kavkaz"* and recruiting relatives into the ranks of militants.

According to investigators, Dzeitov was an adherent of a radical trend in Islam, and in 2019, he joined the above "Imarat Kavkaz" commanded by Aslan Byutukaev. Investigators believe that on Byutukaev's instructions, Dzeitov recruited people into the organization to commit terror acts. Dzeitov also placed a post in a social network with the propaganda of the "Islamic State"*.

Byutukaev was involved in the terror act committed at the Domodedovo Airport in 2011, and the attack of Chechen militants on Grozny on December 4, 2014; he was on the federal wanted list and on the sanction lists of the United States and the European Union.

Investigators believe that Dzeitov managed to recruit his nephews who lived in Siberia into the "Imarat Kavkaz"*. In March 2020, they surrendered to law enforcers.

On January 20, Ramzan Kadyrov announced the murder of a group of militants led by Aslan Byutukaev in Katar-Yurt. According to Chechen authorities, five law enforcers were wounded in the shootout. Law enforcers found Byutukaev's hiding place by watching his ancestral village of Katar-Yurt. A participant in the operation said that a plan to attack the FSB building in Chechnya was found among Byutukaev's personal belongings.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 31, 2021 at 11:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.