Criminal Activities and Investigation

Law enforcement agencies in the territories of the North Caucasus region and the Republic of Georgia, with the direct complicity of one of the leaders of the Chechen illegal armed groups (IAF), Abu al-Walid al-Ghamidi (Abu Walid), carried out criminal activities to prepare further acts of terrorism and create bandit formations.

Investigation Timeline and Efforts

• Despite the measures taken, it was not possible to detain any of the wanted defendants within the thirty-four-month period of the investigation.
• On June 21, 2002, the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, State Counselor of Justice 1st Class Yu.S. Biryukov, extended the investigation period to 38 months, until November 9 of that year.
• During the extended investigation, work continued to establish the location and detain the defendants wanted in the case on the Republic of Georgia's territory, as well as to collect and document additional evidence regarding the acts incriminated to them, committed in 1999-2002 on the territory of Russia, in connection with international petitions previously sent to the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Georgia.

Detention and Confessions

• On July 14, 2002, A.O. Dekkushev, one of the active participants in the named criminal group, was detained and extradited from Georgia to Russia.
• On the same day, he was charged with committing crimes provided for by Part 3 of Art. 205 and Part 3 of Art. 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and a preventive measure in the form of detention in the FSB of Russia's Pre-trial Detention Center was applied.
• Questioned on the merits of the crimes incriminated to him, Dekkushev pleaded guilty to committing them together with the persons named above and gave detailed testimony about:
  • Executing the order received from Khattab and Abu Umar for the bombings of residential buildings in the cities of Moscow and Volgodonsk.
  • The purchase of a component (ammonium nitrate) of the explosive used in the Volgograd region.
  • The manufacture of the explosive in the village of Mirny, Stavropol Krai, and its packaging in sugar bags.
  • Participation in IAF after the commission of the investigated acts of terrorism.
  • The illegal crossing of the State Border of the Russian Federation on the Dagestan-Azerbaijan section in 2000.

Investigative Findings

• The circumstances set forth by Dekkushev were fully confirmed during investigative actions carried out with his participation in the territories of the Stavropol Krai and Rostov Region.
• In these actions, metal barrels were seized in which Dekkushev transported ammonium nitrate intended for the manufacture of explosives, as well as a sewing machine used by the defendants named above for sewing bags with explosives.

Identification of New Participants

• In addition, during the work with Dekkushev, new participants in the specified criminal group were identified:
  • Z.A. Batchaev (brother of the defendant T.A. Batchaev).
  • A native of the village of Kartsa, North Ossetia-Alania, M.D. Tsokiev (Islamic name 'Moaz').
• M.D. Tsokiev took an active part in the manufacture of explosives and explosive devices used in the apartment bombings.
• According to procedurally fixed data obtained by the investigation, Z. Batchaev and Tsokiev died in 1999-2000 on the territory of the Chechen Republic, where they fought on the side of the militants.
• The latter may be buried near the settlement of Gansolchu in the Nozhay-Yurtovsky district.