Statement of Gochiyayev Achemez Shagabanovich

April 24, 2002

My name is Gochiyayev Achemez Shagabanovich. I was born on September 28, 1970, in the city of Karachaevsk, KChR (Karachay-Cherkess Republic) (formerly Stavropol Krai).

• Until the age of 16, I lived in Karachaevsk, graduated from secondary school No. 3, and lived at the address: Kurdzhieva St. 14, apt. 34.
• After finishing school, I went to study in Moscow; there I enrolled in PTU (Vocational School) No. 67, which was located at the "Pervomayskaya" station.
• A year later, I graduated from the school and was drafted into the army.
• In the Strategic Missile Forces, I underwent training in Belarus for six months, and served the rest in Siberia, Altai Krai, Pervomayskiy settlement.
• After the army, I stayed at home for about two years, then returned to Moscow, worked, and tried to engage in commerce.
• In 1996, I got married and received a residence permit; I am registered at: Strogino, Marshal Katukov St. 6, apt. 188.
• In 1997, I opened my own firm, engaged in the construction of cottages and trade. The firm was called "Kapstroy 2000".

Regarding the FSB's claim that I am the organizer of the Moscow bombings, that I am connected with Basaev and Khattab, and that they paid me $500,000 for these bombings, and that I underwent training in a camp in Urus-Martan—all these claims are an absolute lie.

I have never had anything to do with the FSB or other similar structures.

Business Ventures in Moscow

As I wrote earlier, I lived and worked in Moscow. In June 1999, a person came to my firm whom I knew very well, since our school days. He suggested we engage in a business venture together; he said he had good opportunities for the sale of food products.

• First, he ordered mineral water from me; I delivered it to him, he sold it and settled the account with me on time.
• Then he told me that he needed premises in the southeast of Moscow where he supposedly had sales points.

I helped him secure these premises on Guryanova, on Kashirka, Borisovskie Prudy, and Kapotnya.

The Events of September 1999

On September 9, I was visiting friends, and at about 5 AM this person called my mobile and said that there was a small fire at the warehouse on Guryanova and I needed to go there. I said I would come and started getting ready, turned on the television, and saw what had actually happened, and I decided not to go anywhere and to wait it out.

On September 13, when the explosion of the house on Kashirskoye Highway occurred, I finally realized that I had been framed. I immediately called the police, the ambulance, even the 911 rescue service, and reported the warehouses at Borisovskie Prudy and Kapotnya, where after this, explosions were successfully prevented. I was declared a suspect, then the organizer, and since then I have had to hide.

Conclusion

Analyzing all these events, I come to the conclusion that this entire monstrous plan was developed and implemented by those people for whom it was beneficial at the time. But there was one misfire in their plan: the fact that I managed to get away from them. I think the fact that on September 9 I was not at home but visiting friends played its part. Now I am almost certain that this person with whom I worked (all data [illegible] ... [?] ... agent of the FSB)

Statement

• I am a native of Chechnya, in order to somehow link me with Chechnya, when in fact I have never lived in Chechnya.

From my brother Boris Gochiyaev, who works in the district police department, I learned that they have an order not to take me alive. Then I realized that the publicity the FSB gave me by declaring me a terrorist, an organizer of explosions, a villain, etc., that all this was done on purpose; they hoped that by liquidating me they could trumpet to the whole country and the whole world that such a "super-terrorist" who blew up houses in Moscow had been destroyed, and thereby close this terrible topic.

Regarding my sister, I know that she was often interrogated; first they offered money, then they intimidated, threatened, beat her, trying to get testimony against me from her, so that she would publicly state that I committed these explosions. After that, they imprisoned her husband, Taukan Frantsuzov, accusing him of participating in the explosions in Moscow; then this accusation, as everyone knows, failed miserably, but he was still added to some group and sentenced to 13.5 years; I regard this as revenge against me. (If necessary, I will be able to provide my sister's witness testimony, it will just take a little time).

As for Ryazan, I have never been there and do not know this city.

To the question of whether I am ready to go to a third country to make public statements. In the situation I find myself in, guarantees that would guarantee my safety simply do not exist, but as for a public statement, I am ready to meet with a journalist (journalists) and answer all questions of interest.

This is a brief description of all the events that occurred (we will talk about the details later).