20:54, 28 March 2007

Chechnya doubts of Baisarov fighters' involvement in Politkovskaya's murder

Local observers find the statement disseminated by a number of mass media on behalf of former fighters of the "Gorets" FSB's special detachment (where Movladi Baisarov, who was killed several months ago in Moscow, was the commander) on their complicacy in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya to be a pure disinformation.

The statement of former "Baisarov guys" that was made public yesterday about their involvement in Politkovskaya's assassination and that the order on her liquidation was obtained from the current Chechnya's leadership is, most probably, a fabrication. This is the opinion of most of local observers.

"I don't think that someone of former "Gorets" members would ever call himself 'a bandit' or 'a gang member' and confess of mingling with illegal oil extraction and processing, trafficking in hostages and so forth. It's just nonsense," a local human rights activist thinks.

"I've read this 'statement,' and I'm sure it's just a mere 'phoney'," Said Musaev, 55, former worker of the USSR Ministry of Interior, has noted.

Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent