Testimony of Achimez Gochiyayev

Materials for the meeting of the Public Commission for the investigation of the apartment bombings in Moscow

Prepared by Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky

July 25, 2002

1. Circumstances of contacts with Gochiyayev

• At the end of March 2002, an unknown person called Yuri Felshtinsky and offered information regarding Gochiyayev.
• To make a decision, we took a pause. A second phone call from the unknown person was received in mid-April. An agreement was reached for a meeting in one of the European countries.
• At the end of April 2002, a meeting took place between Felshtinsky and Litvinenko and a courier. The courier was given a list of questions for Gochiyayev concerning (1) the authenticity of Gochiyayev's identity and (2) the circumstances of the terrorist attacks in Moscow in September 1999, as well as a video camera to record Gochiyayev's answers.
• A few days later, in another European country, a meeting took place with a certain intermediary. We were handed a video recording and several photographs establishing Gochiyayev's identity, as well as his handwritten testimony.
• The materials were obtained free of charge; no money or material assets were transferred for them (with the exception of the video camera, which was not returned due to the difficulties of sending equipment across borders).

2. Authenticity of Gochiyayev's identity

• Having studied the photos, video materials, and Gochiyayev's testimony, in which he stated that he was not connected with Khattab and Basayev, during a subsequent conversation with the intermediary, we asked him to obtain an answer from Gochiyayev regarding the authenticity of his joint photograph with Khattab, published on the official "FSB-ru" website.
• A few days later, the intermediary reported that the person in the photograph was not Gochiyayev, but some other person.