Alek Dzhabrailov

Alek Dzhabrailov (11 August 1976 – 10 August 2009) was worker of charity Let's Save the Generation, together with his wife, Zarema Sadulayeva. The charity was located in Grozny, the Capital of Chechen Republic, and was dedicated to help children who had physical or mental trauma of war.

The City of Grozny was under bombardment during First Chechen War; Many children were killed and wounded, but after there was another bloodshed, Second Chechen War (Watch on YouTube Al-Jazeera English documentaries: Witness - Lost children of Chechnya - Jan 1 2009 - Part 1^[1] and Witness - Lost children of Chechnya - Jan 1 2009 - Part 2);^[2] Photo: Grozny, Presidential Palace, January, 1995

Kidnapped and murdered

Alek Dzhabrailov and Zarema Sadulayeva were on August 10, 2009, together in the office of the Save the Generation, when at about 2 pm five unknown men came into and led out Alek Dzhabrailov together Zarema Sadulayeva.^[3] The charity was located in the centre of the City of the Grozny.^[4] One of the charity's employees was also in the office there and witnessed the abduction. Senior official at Russian human rights organization Memorial, Alexander Cherkasov, in interview for the Guardian said that two of the unknown were dressed up in black, while other three in camouflage.^[5] The unknown said they were from the security services and took Zarema Sadulayeva and Alek Dzhabrailov for questioning and left their telephone contact number. A little while later two of them returned in the charity office again and took Zarema Saduilayeva's mobile and Alek Dzhabrailov's car.

When Zarema Sadulayeva and Alek Dzabrailov's colleagues called the contact number left by visitors, who were in reality kidnappers, then nobody answered them.^[5]

On midnight of August 10-11, the dead bodies of Alek Dzhabrailov and Zarema Sadulayeva were found with gun wounds and traces of torture, in the boot of the Alek Dzhabrailov car.^[5] On August 11 Alek Dzhabrailov would have celebrated his 33rd birthday if he were alive. Zarema Sadulayeva was the same age of 33.^[6]

Investigation

Aug 11, 2009, Vladimir Markin, Russian Prosecutor General's Investigative Committee Spokesman, says about conducting investigation to determine all the circumstances of this incident as well as the perpetrators, and a group of experts from the Russian Prosecutor General's Investigative Committee has flown to the Grozny to help to solve the case.^[7]

August 11, 2009, also Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic, says the case is an inhuman crime and he'll take personal control of the investigation.^[8]

10 December 2009, Internet portal Caucasian Knot writes that when investigation started in the murder then colleagues of the killed human rights activists and friends criticized that because the investigation said Alek Dzhabrailov might be killed because he took part in recent Chechen warfare so maybe he was killed because of a feud after the warfare, but his wife killed just incidentally, but the friends and colleagues argued that if that be true why then Zarema Sadulayeva body had such severe traces of torture.^[9]

15 July 2012, portal Caucasian Knot publishes interview with Human Rights Watch/Russia senior official, Tatiana Lokshina, where she says: "...one witness who saw the kidnappers was questioned by investigation, a facial composite was composed. The witness knew also telephone number of the one of those visitors. Then the investigation took two years with such witness' testimony to identify kidnapper. But when the one was identified, it occurred that the identified was a police officer in the Kurchaloy Police Office who died during one of the police special operations. So there is no more investigation to be leading by now." (This is translation from Russian language; original quote see below in references.)^[10]

January 22, 2015, investigative journalist Elena Milashina in the Novaya Gazeta writes that the murder is not yet investigated: "...in Chechnya unknown kidnapped and killed human rights defender Natalya Estemirova, also civil activists Alek Dzhabrailov and Zarema Sadulayeva, as well as during a special security operation led by Ramzan Kadyrov another activist, Zarema Gaysanova, disappeared. Not a single one of "the offences against the person that are severe and dangerous" was investigated until today."(This is translation from Russian language; original quote see below in references.)^[11]

References