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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Video of Jihad in Chechnya with death of Basayev and others -Beslan massacre terrorist loses appeal against life sentence

Video of Jihad in Chechnya with death of Basayev and others -Beslan massacre terrorist loses appeal against life sentence

December 28, 2006

This hour long video shows Shamil Basayev and others in their various camps and going out to attack Russian targets. Several of the terrorists are shot and wounded and one who is killed is buried. At the end of the film Basayev's body is seen after he was killed by the Russians. During the film the terrorists are interviewed at their camp by Al Jazeera.It is worth noting that Basyavev was killed in July-yet his remains were only identified yesterday,


http://imam-web.com/=play=14.htm

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?menu=1&id_issue=11651852

Maskhadov, Basayev, Abu Dzeit organized Beslan school siege - Torshin

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - The parliamentary commission investigating the terrorist attack in Beslan has named Chechen separatist leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev, Arab mercenary Abu Dzeit and a man identified only by his last name Khashiyev among the organizers of the school siege.

"A militant known as the "Colonel" [Khuchbarov] was immediately in charge of the terrorist attack," Federation Council First Deputy Speaker Alexander Torshin, who heads the commission, said on Friday. tm la


http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n102266
27 December 2006 | 21:30 | FOCUS News Agency

Moscow. Forensic experts in southern Russia have confirmed after a series of genetic tests that the remains of a militant killed by Russian security forces near Chechnya in July belong to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, the Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday, RIA Novosti reported. Basayev, who organized Russia's worst terrorist attacks, including the 2004 Beslan school siege, was killed together with 12 other militants in a special operation in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.
The 41-year-old warlord was killed in his car while accompanying a truck laden with a hundred kilograms of dynamite, presumably intended for a large-scale terrorist attack in Ingushetia. Fragments of his body were identified in a preliminary examination shortly after the killing, but genetic tests were then called for to confirm the results.

Experts confirm identity of Chechen warlord Basayev's remains

21:55

|

27/ 12/ 2006

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061227/57970603.html

ROSTOV-ON-DON/MOSCOW, December 27 (RIA Novosti) - Forensic experts in southern Russia have confirmed after a series of genetic tests that the remains of a militant killed by Russian security forces near Chechnya in July belong to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, the Prosecutor General's Office said Wednesday.

Basayev, who orchestrated Russia's worst terrorist attacks, including the 2004 Beslan school siege, was killed together with 12 other militants in a special operation in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.

The 41-year-old warlord was killed in his car while accompanying a truck laden with a hundred kilograms of dynamite, presumably intended for a large-scale terrorist attack in Ingushetia. Fragments of his body were identified in a preliminary examination shortly after the killing, but genetic tests were then called for to confirm the results.

The country's most wanted man, Basayev was reported killed on many previous occasions, but had managed, until July this year, to elude Russian forces despite the Kremlin's offer of $10 million for information leading to his capture.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/559A8436-94A9-468D-9854-C318688C76D1.html

Russia's Top Court Upholds Life Sentence For Beslan Attacker

Russia -- Nurpashi Kulaev arrives in jail during the third day of the verdict announcement in the court of Vladikavkaz, 18 May 2006
Kulayev in court in Vladikavkaz in May

December 27, 2006 -- Russia's highest court has upheld a life sentence for the only militant known to have survived the 2004 terrorist attack on a school in Beslan.

More than 330 people were killed in the attack, most of them children.

In May, Nurpashi Kulayev was convicted by a court in southern Russia.

The Supreme Court on December 26 upheld that verdict, rejecting appeals from his lawyers and relatives of the victims.

The head of a group of victims' relatives called Voice of Beslan, Ella Kesayeva, said on Ekho Moskvy that Kulayev's trial failed properly to investigate the circumstances of the raid and rescue efforts.

Survivors and victims' relatives have accused the Russian leadership of covering up for what they call a botched rescue effort by security forces.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/08/B841BF15-DB81-4D65-96F5-9B10F3EC9D9A.html

Russia: Independent Beslan Investigation Sparks Controversy

Russia -- Beslan school gym
What set off the blaze in the school gym?
(RFE/RL)

PRAGUE, August 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) --The controversy over the events that led to the tragic conclusion of the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis spilled into the public domain yesterday with the publication of a lengthy report on the tragedy that differs sharply from the official line.

Parts of the report, penned by a member of the State Duma commission investigating the siege, were published just days ahead of its second anniversary.

The most stunning allegation made pertains to responsibility for the two blasts that precipitated the bloody end of the siege of School No. 1, which resulted in the deaths of more than 330 people, half of them children.

"We have known for a long time that security services were to blame for killing many of the hostages. But the Prosecutor-General's Office flatly refuses to listen to the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw it."

More than 1,000 hostages were taken at the Beslan school in the early hours of September 1, 2004, by guerrillas demanding an end to the war in nearby Chechnya. A standoff ensued until September 3, when Russian personnel stormed the school after explosions were heard and a blaze broke out in the gymnasium that held most of the hostages.

Familiar Investigator, Different Result

The official line has long been that militants set off the initial explosion and that grenades fired by Russian troops could not have started the blaze. The State Duma's official investigative commission, headed by deputy speaker Aleksandr Torshin, is expected to release its final report in September.

But the independent investigation of explosives expert Yury Savelyev, a member of Motherland (Rodina), veers sharply from the official explanation. Excerpts of Savelyev's 700-page report were published yesterday in "Novaya gazeta" and on the website "Pravda-Beslana" (pravdabeslana.ru).

"I regard his report as a report written by a top-class expert. There was a third party trying to provoke the spontaneous ignition of the material inside the school's gym." -- Rodina member Dmitry Rogozin, who was in Beslan during the siege.

"Pravda-Beslana" Editor in Chief Marina Litvinovich explained the main findings in an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service.

"The main conclusion of Savelyev's report concerns the first explosions in the gymnasium on September 3, which set off of the storming of the school," Litvinovich said. "In his report, Yury Petrovich Savelyev [says he] found out that the first shots against the gymnasium were made from a certain weapon -- the first shot was made from an RPO-A thermobaric flame-thrower, or a similar weapon, and the second shot was made from an RShG-1 rocket-propelled grenade."

Investigation Turns

Savelyev told Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station that his investigation was initially based on the premise that the first two explosions resulted from the hostage takers' homemade explosives. However, he said the scientific evidence simply did not support that scenario.

He said that in conducting his investigation he found that surviving hostages were talking about explosions in parts of the school other than those referred to by officials.

Savelyev concluded that the authorities decided to storm the school building, but wanted to create the impression they were acting in response to actions taken by the hostage takers. Thus, Savelyev believes, the military may have initiated the bloody conclusion to the siege.

"It is known where the shots were fired from," Litvinovich said. "The first shot was fired from a five-story building at 37 Shkolny Pereulok, the second shot was fired from 41 Shkolny Pereulok. Those buildings are adjacent to the school. Accordingly, it is also known where the shots were fired at. The first shot was fired at the gymnasium's attic above the hostages, and the second shot was fired under a gymnasium window. However, it remains unclear who exactly fired the shots, but this question is less important. The more important question is who ordered it."

Numerous Questions Raised

Savelyev's report also claims that police in Chechnya learned of the attacks three hours ahead of time but failed to alert law-enforcement officials in North Ossetia.

He also raises the possibility that as many as 60-70 attackers were involved in the three-day siege. Officials have claimed that 32 hostage takers were involved, and that all but one were killed on September 3. The lone survivor among the hostage takers was sentenced to prison earlier this year.

Savelyev's report has become a lightning rod, drawing prominent supporters and detractors alike.

Stanislav Kesayev, the first deputy chairman of the North Ossetian parliament who headed the republic's investigation of Beslan, told Ekho Moskvy on August 28 that Savelyev "did a thorough job. He relied on his own knowledge as a weapons specialist and as a mathematician." Kesayev's own commission determined that the causes of the first and second explosions were unclear.

A fellow member of the Duma's investigative commission said Savelyev's conclusions are based on personal opinions that "do not match the actual events at all."

And a member of the Beslan Mothers Committee, Ella Kesayeva, told the radio station that Savelyev's findings are comparable to those of the group's own independent investigation. She said Beslan Mothers is preparing to submit an appeal to the authorities.

Murat Kuboyev, a Beslan-based journalist, lauded Savelyev's for making his findings public.

"The Beslan Mothers Committee and the Voice of Beslan hoped very much that Savelyev would in fact make things clear," Kuboyev said. "We have known for a long time that security services were to blame for killing many of the hostages. It does not matter whether they did it intentionally or unintentionally. But the Prosecutor-General's Office flatly refuses to listen to the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw it."

Political Agenda?

However, others have refuted Savelyev's claims and accused him of playing politics.

Arkady Baskayev, a fellow member of the Duma's investigative commission, told Ekho Moskvy that Savelyev's conclusions are based on personal opinions that "do not match the actual events at all." He said expert examinations were carried out to determine the causes of the initial explosions, and that the scenario Savelyev's has forwarded was ruled out.

Investigators from the Prosecutor-General's Office and the North Ossetian police maintain that there was no concrete information about an impending attack.

On August 16, the official death toll resulting from the siege was raised to 332, when one of the victims died of complications resulting from her injuries

-------------

MIM: Message from Kavkaz the Chechen Jihad site announcing the death of Basayev


Alternatif-net] Abdallah Shamil Abu-Idris became a Shaheed (insha ALlah)

http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg01040.html

Berita Informasi
Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:20:07 -0700

Inna liLlahi wa inna ilay hi roji'un..

 Shamil became a Shaheed (insha ALlah)
 Publication time: 10 July 2006, 20:07


 The representative of Military Council of State Defense Council Majlisul
Shura of CRI Abu Umar has reported to Kavkaz Center news agency that the
vice-president of CRI, the Military Amir of Mujahideen of Caucasus, Abdallah
Shamil Abu-Idris became a Shaheed (insha Allah).

The Chechen commander died as a result of an accidental spontaneous explosion
of a truck, loaded with explosives on July 10 2006 in the region of the village
Ekazhevo in Ingushetia. Three other Mujahideen became Shaheeds (insha Allah)
together with him.

The representative of Military Council has not reported any other details. At
the same time he denied all claims of Russian side about a "special operation"
against Shamil Basayev as a result of which ostensibly, the Chechen commander
die.



"There was no special operation whatsoever. Shamil and the other brothers of
ours became Shaheeds (insha Allah) according to Allah's (swt) will. The Supreme
one has his own plan and decision. And about the special operation, Mujahideen
will show how it should be carried out ... ", - the representative of Military
Council of State Defense Council Majlisul Shura of CRI stated.

Let's remind that earlier occupation command has reported about an explosion in
Ekazhevo and death of 4 Mujahideen. Only after 9 hours after the first news,
kafirs have claimed of death of vice-president of CRI, the military Amir Shamil
Abu-Idris.

The representative of Ingush puppet militia has claimed that three of four
Mujahideen have been unidentified and one of them is probably Shamil Basayev.
The reason of explosion was a careless use of an explosive.

Later on Russian side began to report all over again about 5 then 8, and then
12 ostensibly killed Mujahideen. Thus invaders have explained that as a result
of huge explosion all other bodies "have been reduced to fragments and have
literally disappeared".

 Representatives of puppet Ministry of Internal Affairs specified that at
night from July 9 to 10, in 2 kilometers from village Ekazhevo of Nazran
district of Ingushetia, a powerful explosion was occurred. The militiamen, who
had arrived at a place, found out a burned down lorry and four bodies.

Kavkaz Center
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Russia's Most Wanted Mujahideen Killed (CBS News) EKAZHEVO, Russia
Chechen Commander Mujahideen Shamil Basayev, responsible for modern Russia's
worst military attacks, was killed Monday when a dynamite-laden truck exploded
in his convoy, Russian officials said.

Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir Putin
that Basayev had been killed overnight in a special operation conducted by
Russian forces in Ingushetia, the area of southern Russia that borders
Chechnya. Patrushev's meeting with Putin was shown on Russian state television.

Basayev, 41, was behind some of Russia's worst military attacks, including the
seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002 in which dozens of hostages and mujahideens
died, the 2004 school hostage taking in Beslan that killed 331, and the seizure
of about 1,000 hostages at a hospital in Budyonnovsk that killed about 100.

Basayev wasn't in Beslan for the attack, but claimed to have organized both of
the operations, CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports.

Basayev was so wanted for these attacks that Russians announced his death half
a dozen times over the years, Palmer reports. For Putin, eliminating Basayev —
a fundamentalist Muslim — had become a personal crusade.

"This is the retaliation he deserved for killing our children," Putin said.

Patrushev gave no details of Basayev's death in his televised remarks, but an
Ingush regional Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he had been killed
while accompanying a truck filled with 220 pounds of dynamite that blew up in
the Ingush village of Ekazhevo early Monday.

Basayev was among four mujahideens killed in the blast.

The Kavkaz-Center Web site, which is considered a voice for Basayev, confirmed
that he died "as a martyr." Citing a member of the rebel parliament, Abu Umar,
it said Basayev had died in an accidental explosion of a truck Monday.

"There was no special operation. Shamil and other brothers of ours became
martyrs by the will of Allah," he said. The site confirmed three other rebels
had been killed in the blast.

The Interfax news agency quoted Ingush Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev as
saying that Basayev's body had been identified "through some of the fragments,
including his head."

Patrushev told Putin that the Chechen rebels had hoped to "put political
pressure on the Russian leadership" during the Group of Eight summit later this
week, which Putin is chairing.

Patrushev said the operation to eliminate Basayev, in which many other rebels
were killed, was thanks to intelligence operations abroad, "especially in those
countries where arms were collected."

"This is deserved retribution for our children in Beslan, for Budyonnovsk, for
all the military attacks that they committed in Moscow and in other regions of
the Russian Federation including Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic," Putin
said, adding that everyone who took part in the operation should be presented
with state medals.

President Bush said the man believed responsible for Russia's worst terrorist
attacks in recent years had it coming. Asked about Basayev's death, Mr. Bush
said, "If he's in fact the person who ordered the killing of children in
Beslan, he deserved it."



The attack on the Beslan school shocked Russia and divided the rebel movement,
since civilians, including women and children, were taken hostage.

Basayev was the most notorious of the Chechen Commanders, eluding Russian
forces for years despite Kremlin vows to hunt him down and an offer of $10
million and plastic surgery to anyone providing information leading to his
death.

His grim, decade-long record of killing both civilians and soldiers reflected
fanatical determination — a ferocity Russia has said was bolstered by help from
international mujahideen networks such as al Qaeda. Washington declared Basayev
a terrorist and a threat to the United States.

Basayev began his campaign even before the Soviet Union's demise, starting with
the hijacking of an airliner in 1991, to attract interest in the separatist
cause of Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region in the Caucasus Mountains.
After Russian forces entered Chechnya in 1994, his exploits became more
prominent. Basayev's forces buried a container of radioactive material in a
Moscow park in 1995 — a warning of the mayhem they could inflict if they chose.

The Budyonnovsk hospital raid brought Basayev fame at home. When Russian troops
pulled out in 1996 and Chechnya prepared to elect a president to lead it to de
facto independence, Basayev ran for the job.


 He lost to the late rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov and became his deputy.
Basayev appeared at first to be trying to change from combatant to politician,
trimming his flowing beard and trading his camouflage fatigues for a suit.

Alu Alkhanov, president of the Kremlin-backed government in Chechnya, said
Basayev's killing likely would undermine the Chechen rebel movement
irreparably.

"I consider that today can be considered the date of the logical end of the
fight against illegal armed formations," he said, according to Interfax.

Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who has frequently reported on Chechnya,
agreed that Basayev's killing, if confirmed, would be a huge propaganda coup
for Putin ahead of the G-8 summit.

"Basayev is a major symbol for Putin, and his elimination just before the G-8
summit is an amazing present for him," she said.

But she said that his death, just like that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda
in Iraq's slain leader, would not bring an end to the conflict in Chechnya and
the wider North Caucasus region, which has been fueled by boiling resentment of
widespread human rights abuses against civilians.

"If you look at the situation in the North Caucasus, not just in Chechnya, the
ranks of the rebel resistance are constantly being replenished," she said.

Another rebel leader, Doku Umarov, pledged last month that rebels would step up
their attacks against Russian forces.

Umarov took over as Chechnya's new separatist leader last month after police
killed Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev during a raid in an eastern Chechen town.
Sadulayev's predecessor, Maskhadov, was killed in a police operation in March
2005.

Maskhadov was considered more open to negotiations than Basayev, who cultivated
a reputation for ruthlessness.

Umarov last month named Basayev as his vice president. It was unclear whether
that represented a radicalization of Umarov's faction or whether it was an
attempt to rein in Basayev by Umarov, who had pledged not to continue attacks
on civilians.

 -------------------------------------------------





 Policemen inspect a blast site of a car at outskirts of the village of
Yekazhevo in Ingushetia. The car damaged by an explosion that was believed to
have killed Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev in the village of Ekazhevo in
the southern Russian region of Ingushetia, July 10, 2006. (Said
Tsarnayev/Reuters)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Brothers in Shaheed

 13.03.2003
 Shamil Basayev does not consider himself a terrorist
 «I would not call this operation brilliant because we have not achieved our
key goal which was to bury all those vermin from the puppet occupant government
right in their «nest»," said well-known Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev in his
interview to the Chechen news agency SHARIAT when asked to comment on the
explosion of the House of Government in Grozny on December 27, 2002.

In his interview which was released by SHARIAT on March 12, Basayev, head of
the commando-type group, Riyadus Salikhyiin, confirmed his responsibility for
organizing the raid but insisted that it was not an act of terror but a
military operation under conditions of the active war. «We had attacked an
institution of the occupant regime, and whatever anyone says, that was a
classic act of sabotage," held Basayev. He also said that next time a similar
action would be more successful.

 Prima News Agency
 ------------------------------------------------------
 Shamil Basayev: "OK, so I'm a terrorist" Submitted by Bill Weinberg on
Mon, 08/01/2005 - 05:46. Russia says it is outraged by an interview with
Chechen guerilla leader Shamil Basayev broadcast by the ABC TV network, and the
foreign ministry summoned a senior US diplomat in Moscow to express its "strong
indignation" over the show. In the interview, the warlord—who claimed
responsibility for the deadly raid on a school in Beslan, South
Ossetia—admitted he was a terrorist but said the Russians were terrorists too.

 More than 320 people—half of them children—were killed in the Beslan attack
last September. Russia is offering a $10 million reward for the capture of the
warlord.

 The interview with Shamil Basayev—recorded at his hideout in Chechnya—was
aired on ABC's Nightline program July 28. The Russian embassy in Washington
said ABC's apparent decision to ignore Moscow's arguments against broadcasting
the material was deplorable. The statement charged Basayev was "responsible for
slaughtering innocent victims during many major terrorist attacks that he
masterminded and personally perpetrated." It said: "The most shocking and
deadliest of them was the cold-blooded killing of hundreds of children" in
Beslan. The interview "runs counter to the spirit of Russian-American
partnership in our joint fight against the global threat of terrorism," read
the statement, which was also broadcast by ABC.

 In the interview, Mr Basayev, speaking through an interpreter, admitted that
he was "a bad guy, a bandit." He openly stated: "OK, so I'm a terrorist, but
what would you call them [the Russians]? If they are the keepers of
constitutional order, if they are anti-terrorists, then I spit on all these
agreements and nice words."

 The rebel leader accused Russia of killing thousands of Chechen women,
children and elderly in what he described as "a colonial war".

 When asked if Beslan-style attacks could happen again, he said: "Of course
they can. As long as the genocide of the Chechen nation continues...anything
can happen."

 He refused to accept responsibility for the deaths of children killed in
Beslan, blaming Russian authorities. (BBC, July 29)



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Shamil Basayev: “My only purpose is validity”

Notification of the “Chechenpress”: The text of the interview of Shamil
Basayev to the journalist Andrei Babitsky, shown on the American
television on the 28 th of July this year, is taken from the site of the
TV Company “ABC”. We are not responsible for authenticity of the text,
published on the site. Verbose theoretical discourses of Ted Koppel, the
TV- man of the program “Nightline”, are withdrawn from the text.

************************

I went by my own car. From Prague , I went through Ukraine , and got to
Kerch . Across the Ukrainian Russian border, and then by taxi, got to
Ingushetia. There I was met by someone connected to the resistance
movement. It was late at night and I was then taken to the village of
Nesterovsk . There I changed cars. As I got into the other car, much to
my surprise – actually, more than just surprise, it was a difficult
moment for me, a shock. I saw Shamil Basayev seated in it. The shock was
not out of fear. I've known Basayev for a long time. But I realized the
consequences I'll have to deal with. I understood immediately that the
Russian authorities would definitely charge me with collaborating with a
terrorist, with terrorists. I want to say that the meeting was totally
unexpected. Frankly speaking, I had no idea where I was. This was done
so that, intentionally or not, I couldn't tell anyone where I'd been,
and lead anyone to their hideout.

ANDREI BABITSKY

Tell me, please, you're the second-most wanted terrorist in the world.
How long have you managed to stay alive this long?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

First of all, I'm not the second. And secondly, I'm not wanted. I,
myself, am trying to find these terrorists. I'm looking for them in all
of Russia . And I'll keep on looking and I'll keep on finding them. And
I'll keep on punishing them. So, don't tell me they're trying to find
me. I'm trying to find them.

ANDREI BABITSKY

As Russian troops leave, as you want them to, who should then rule
Chechnya ?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

First thing that comes to mind are the words “power to the people.” I
have never sought power and I have never fought for power. I have always
fought for justice and justice has been my only goal. Honestly, I'm
telling you, not in the least do I feel there is a hunt for me. But I'm
a fighter. I'm at war. I can die anytime, even now.

ANDREI BABITSKY

What are you counting on? Do you really think that terror can force this
regime to concessions, to negotiations?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

I don't need their negotiations. I need a stop to the genocide of the
Chechen people. I need their occupying scum to leave our republic.

I need guarantees that tomorrow future Chechen generations won't be
deported to Siberia , like they were in 1944. That's why we need
independence. Practically the whole world recognized that that was
genocide. It's the “Ruskies” who are the terrorists. There is a struggle
going on for our national independence.

ANDREI BABITSKY

Coming to Beslan, regardless of how you assess the potential of that
operation and Putin's reaction, do you think it was right to risk the
lives of children, to deprive them of water? Don't you have the feeling
that you are responsible for the lives of these children, perhaps
sharing this responsibility with Putin?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

Why should I share it with Putin? Officially, over 40,000 of our
children have been killed and tens of thousands mutilated. Is anyone
saying anything about that?

ANDREI BABITSKY

And you mean to say that now their children are to be responsible?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

It's not the children who are responsible. Responsibility is with the
whole Russian nation, which with silent approval gives a yes. A nation
that feeds their grasses who ravaged Chechnya . They collect food,
things for them, they supply them. They pay taxes. They give approval in
word and in deed. They are all responsible. And in Beslan, to be honest,
I didn't expect this. But in Beslan, the issue was either stop the war
in Chechnya or have Putin resign. Just one of those two things. Carry
out one, and all people are released, no questions asked. Get it? There
wasn't more to it. Well, you can ask why I did it. To stop the killing
of thousands and thousands of Chechen children, Chechen women, and the
elderly. Look at the facts. They have been kidnapped, taken away, murdered.

ANDREI BABITSKY

So, you think all is fine, as long as you don't shoot point-blank? You
think putting children's lives at-risk is not the same as taking part in
their killing?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

I will pull no punches to stop this genocide. But within the limits of
my religion. And in my religion, Allah tells me in the Koran, “fight
against them how they fight against you, but do not cross the line.” And
I try not to cross the line. And I haven't yet.

ANDREI BABITSKY

What kind of feelings did you experience after Beslan?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

To tell you honestly, I was shocked. I swear, I never expected that. I
never thought Putin was so blood-thirsty that he would manifest his
thirst for blood. I didn't think he would. When confronted with a more
serious situation, I thought they'd try to make some move like gas or
something. That at least they wouldn't do anything against children.
That was my thinking. I figured that the more brutal I could make it,
the quicker they'd get the message. I thought it would work. But it's
not sinking in yet.

I never thought there would be small children in Beslan. It's a school.
Anyway, the youngest would be a 6-year-old. There is a kindergarten
across the road. I didn't see anyone. We studied maps, looked at all. I
made the plans. And I told the commander, I told him, when Russian
officials show up, hand them our demands officially and then release all
less than 10 years old, no questions asked. That's what I told him.
These were my conditions.

I asked Basayev about the explosion inside the Beslan school, which
actually started the storming of the building. He told me that according
to his information, a sniper shot the Chechen, who in the gym held his
foot down on the detonator of an explosive device. He was supposed to
hold down the fuse all the time. But when the sniper shot him, he fell,
removed his foot from the fuse and the explosion happened.

ANDREI BABITSKY

And what about the blown-up planes?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

Who said they'd been blown up? Where are the fact that they'd been blown
up? Why didn't they blow them up? Why doesn't it occur to you that they
shot them down? The demands were exactly the same, to stop the war. Why
blame us? Think for yourself.

ANDREI BABITSKY

Say a couple of words more. They were only to hijack the planes?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

They were supposed to hijack the planes and demand an end to the war.
And they were not supposed to let them land until there was some
response. But they were immediately shot down. Whatever, our hijackers
weren't supposed to blow up the planes just like that. And I wonder why
both planes exploded at the same time.

Same thing at the Dubrovka Theater. I told my men, all foreigners, must
be released unconditionally. That was an order. But – but you can
release them, but they may not make it to safety. And it would look as
if you killed them. Therefore, have everyone of them call the embassies,
have a car drive up to the door. Car drives up, you let them out. But
many weren't allowed to leave. And what do I have to do with it? I do
what I can, whatever I can control. In Chechnya and everywhere else, I
use methods that are reasonable and acceptable. Neither of my Mujahadeen
have killed children, not here, not there. Not killing, it's a fact.

As early as January 2004, I made an official statement. I said if Putin,
as the leader of the gang which does all this damage to Chechnya ,
officially announces that he and his so-called army will start behaving
in accordance with international law, we will quit all attacks and
bombings on the territory of Russia . We will just fight these troops
here in Chechnya . I made this official statement. Get it? And what was
the answer? More kidnappings. And it all started more killings. It all
went full-blast.

ANDREI BABITSKY

You call this a struggle for independence?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

And what would you call it?

ANDREI BABITSKY

Well, I think there's a religious motivation, as well.

SHAMIL BASAYEV

No. For me, it's first and foremost a struggle for freedom. If I'm not a
free man, I can't live in my faith. I need to be a free man. Freedom is
primary. That's how I see. Shari'a comes second.

He's being searched for. He spoke about it. This year, they tried to
poison him twice. From abroad, he gets shipments of some necessary
medical equipment, prosthetics. He covers the stump of his leg with a
special silicon sock. And one of the silicon socks that he got from
abroad was saturated with poison. They tested it by placing it in a
chicken coop. And a chicken died immediately.

SHAMIL BASAYEV

They tried to poison me twice this year. There were many skirmishes but
my time is not up. My time will come and I won't need the Russian army
to die. I will just die anyway. Everyone's time will be up sooner or
later. It once again confirms the words of God, what Allah has in store
for us. When my time comes, I will die. And the whole, wide world can do
nothing to me, it can't hurt me. And if Allah has something good in
store for me, so it will be. And nothing on earth can get in the way.

ANDREI BABITSKY

Can acts such as Beslan and the theater be repeated?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

Of course, they can. As long as the genocide of the Chechen nation
continues, as long as this mess continues, anything can happen. Okay, I
admit, I'm a bad guy. A bandit, a terrorist. Okay. So, I'm a terrorist.
But what would you call them? If they are keepers of constitutional
order, if they are anti-terrorists, then I spit on all these agreements
and nice words. And I want to spit on the whole world if the whole world
spits on me.

ANDREI BABITSKY

There's a pause, now. Does this mean you're planning something new? Or
have you decided to take it easy for a while?

SHAMIL BASAYEV

I won't take it easy, even for a moment. The break we had over winter is
more than enough. Yeah, I'm making plans. We'll see. We're always
looking for new ways. If one thing fails, we'll look for something new.
But we'll get there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Many of my fellow Russians will ask why I haven't informed the Federal
security service of this meeting, so then they could locate and
apprehend a terrorist and criminal. My answer to this is, I absolutely
distrust Russian power agencies. I'm convinced they wouldn't believe my
words that I didn't know anything. They would decide that I'm concealing
facts as to Basayev's whereabouts. I know how in Chechnya , and not only
in Chechnya , the special services and the functions of the interior
ministry work. How many people disappear without a trace. How many
people undergo horrendous, unbelievable, inhuman torture. I think I'd
subject myself to torture if I contacted the Federal security service. I
think it's unwise and illogical to voluntarily choose such a fate for
yourself.

Chechenpress, the mass-media department, Chechenpress, 08.08.05


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 September, 1, 2005
---------------------------------
 Shamil Basayev: “We have got much to tell much about Beslan...”
 The edition of the agency "Caucasus-center" has received an application of
the First Vice-Premier of the government of the ChRI, the Deputy Amir to the
SDC-Madjlisul Shura of the ChRI, Military Amir Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idris
(Shamil Basayev).
 This application is composed in the style of the answer to the open letter of
the Chechen journalist Ahmad Ichkeriiskiy, which was published on the site
"Caucasus-center" more than a month ago.
 In the application of Shamil Abu-Idris one of the most painful and discussed
for today theme of Beslan is mentioned. Some new facts, adduced by the Chechen
General, can be considered to be sensational.
 The "Caucasus-center" publishes the full text of this application.

 Shamil Basayev: “We have got much to tell about Beslan...”

 Praise to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, who has created us Moslems and
showed much favor to Jihad on His direct way!

 Peace and Blessings to Prophet Muhammad, his family, his ashabs and all
those, who follow the direct way up to the Doomsday!
 And then:

 Assalam Alleikum, Ahmad Ichkeriiskiy!

 The Most High Allah says in the Sacred Koran:

 “Say: “Really, Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, Who does not have an associate,
has my pray and sacrifice, my life and death. It is enjoined to me and I am the
first one of the obedient” . (62-163)

 The Prophet said, "Accept the Islam completely" .

 Dear brother, you have noticed it correctly, that "in order to make correct
conclusions and to have a correct opinion, it is necessary to be independent".

 And our supporters and brothers "blaming and condemning" me today are not
only dependent, but also they are hostages in those countries, where today they
have found a temporary shelter. In fact, all of them are under the constant
threat of extradition to the authorities of Russia , if they begin to express
their opinions freely. Certainly, they have got enough courage and
judiciousness, but they are also hostages and the erroneous policy, which they
began to carry out in the beginning of this war, hoping for the aid and
protection of the West. Therefore their speaking, hearts and deeds are
separated and are not coordinated with each other. That is why there is an
absence of understanding.
 Allah says,

 “Do not be not afraid of people, but be afraid of Me” (5)

 The Prophet said,

 "Let a person not be afraid of threats of people to tell the truth if he has
found it out, seen or heard" .

 Therefore I not only am not upset with their reproaches, but on the contrary,
I tell all brothers and sisters, "You are hostages and if you feel better
because of it, abuse me as much as you want, but do not prevent me with deeds.
I am not Danko and I will make you responsible for deeds, insha Allah".

 Other's deeds will not stick to me, for "a lie will leave, like a sea foam",
and nobody will take away mine, for everyone "who follows the straight way,
follows it for himself". But I urgently advise everybody not to forget the
words of the Most High,

 “Oh, those, who have believed! Testifying before Allah, defend the validity
even if the testimony is against you, or against your parents, or against your
close relatives. It does not matter, whether he is rich or poor, Allah is
closer to both of them. Do not indulge desires in order not to recede from the
validity. If you recede or evade, Allah knows what you do” . (45)

 All of us are witnesses of the pig squeal, which was made by Russians after
my interview to Babitsky. How Putin and Ivanov were “chewing their snivels”.
And it happened because I had sounded the requirements of Shahids in Beslan -

 "Withdrawal of the armies or Putin's resignation!"

 This is what they are afraid of. A word of truth is more terrible for them
than a bomb; therefore they try to isolate us from different directions and to
liquidate our people with impunity. But Putin and his camarilla is only a soap
bubble, which will soon burst.

 Allah says in the sacred Koran,

 “By all means you will be tested with your property and by yourself, and by
all means you will hear many unpleasant words from those, to whom the Holy Writ
was granted before you and from multitheists. But if you are patient and
God-fearing, in fact it is because of resoluteness in deeds”.
 Prophet Muhammad said,

 "The group of my Umma, victorious in true, will not disappear. Those, who
resist to them, will not damage them, until there is the will of Allah (i.e.
the last Hour)" . (Muslim)

 As far as Beslan is concerned, really, if to play the political games of
hypocrites, I should have kept silent or repudiated the brothers. But the
matter is that I live my own life, instead of to play other's games. And what
for should I refuse a successfully carried out operation, which has shown the
real essence of Russicism? What for should we shoulder another's blame?

 And we were incited to this capture by the heads of special services of the
Northern Ossetia, which had introduced in our group their agent Abdulla
(Vladimir) Hodov, the operative nickname "Traveler".

 He was detained at funerals of his brother-mojahed and was offered a choice:
either a prison with rape, or a work for them.

 In order to win my trust, they helped him to make some explosions in
Vladikavkaz in structure of one Ingush group. Then Hodov, following the
initiative of special services of Russia , offered us a Shahid operation with
seizure of the parliament and the government of the Northern Ossetia . But
having lived for about one month among mojaheds in Ingushetia, Hodov himself
admitted to the Amir of the group, that he was an agent of the special services
(the RUBOP and the FSB) and had the task to come closer to me.

 I met him, thanked him for sincerity and suggested him working further for
blessing of the Islam, having become a double agent. After that, following my
advice, he complained to the "heads", that he was trusted a little, as "they
did not listen to words there, but looked at deeds". Russians helped him with
blowing up of cadets; KAMAZs with liquid gas in Vladikavkaz, and blowing up of
a passenger train.

 Thus "he won my trust" and since spring 2004 we "together" with special
services of Russia prepared for the` capture of the governmental complex of the
Northern Ossetia , planning it for the 6 th of September – the Independence Day
of the ChRI.

 Special services should have met the group at the entrance to Vladikavkaz and
liquidate it, and Hodov should have hid in a manhole.

 Since the 31 st of August, we were opened the corridor for active collecting
of investigation data and we by this corridor we came to Beslan, "having mixed
up" the time and object of the attack.

 And it is not all yet.

 We have got much to tell about Beslan, and we waited until Russians would
finish the "investigation", but all of them drag out this process, because they
have nothing to tell the people.

 Today we are ready to an open international investigation of the Beslan
events. We have a participant of this operation, ready to testify.

 The Most High says in the Koran,

 “Allah strengthens believers with a firm word in the worldly life and in the
Last life. And Allah misleads criminals - Allah does what He wishes”. (14)

 A Chechen saying says, "Not the one, who is able to be at war, is the Man,
but the one, who knows, who is his enemy".

 We should leave aside useless conversations and to leave the names of our
real enemies at least for our descendants. Such enemies, as, for example,
Michael Gutseriev, who plundered us in the beginning of the 90 th during the
first war and plunders now, during the second one.

 With a hope to appropriate the Chechen oil, he armed and strengthened
Kafyrov, having given him more than 35 million dollars in 2000-2004. Today he
has given 5 million dollars to Alhanov for strengthening of his authority. He
gave 20 million dollars to the employees of the law enforcement bodies in
Beslan. And he deceived mojaheds in Beslan, having told them, that there would
be no storm, and persuaded them to admit "the car of the Ministry of Emergency
Measures" with soldiers from the troops of special purpose to the building.

 And in autumn of 2004 he was given an opportunity to buy two oil deposits in
Siberia as a gratitude for it.

 The other day he opened a school in Djohar, built on "his own means" and
declared, "A person with a rouble is stronger than a person with a gun". Well,
it is possible to agree with it. But I responsibly declare, that the True is
stronger than a rouble and a person with a rouble will not remain unpunished,
insha Allah.

 He wants our oil on our blood, but we shall return the blood of our brothers
and sisters to his house, to his relatives, at least, the blood of 32 Shahids
in Beslan. We shall force him to choke with his own blood and to experience the
bitterness of it, insha Allah.

 Gutseriev's case will be considered at the autumn session of the field
Sheriyat Court , and we ask everybody to give available information on him.
 If we wish to stop the genocide of already not only Chechens, but also all
other Caucasian peoples, we should give, at least, the information on the site
of such creatures and their close relatives to mojaheds. We can stop the war
only so, punishing its instigators.

 Today we are at war not against the Russian people, but against Russicism.
This misanthropic imperial schizophrenia ideology, a mutated mixture of
fascism, racism, chauvinism and one more -isma.

 We are at war not to kill people, but to defend our Freedom and Independence
, our Belief and our way of life. And we are ready with pleasure to observance
of the international rules of waging war by both sides for these rules are
taken from Sheriyat.

 Difficulties and deprivations only strengthen the belief and determination of
a Moslem.

 Allah pleases us in the Koran:

 “Really, easing will come after each burden” . (94)

 We, mojaheds, are self-sufficient and we are at war not for the sake of human
approval, but for the sake of the Most High Allah. We wish to get the Future
life with our terrestrial life, having preferred Allah and His envoy before all
others.

 With the favor of Allah, this year we have opened the Caucasian front. Next
year, insha Allah, we shall open the Moscow , the Volga region, and the Ural
fronts.
 Jihad extends and more and more enslaved peoples come to understanding of the
necessity to be released from the imperial yoke of Russia with combined
efforts. And we, insha Allah, will soon necessarily win. We need only to be
cleared of hypocrisy, to have patience and be ready to this victory.

 Allah in the Sacred Koran says,

 “Really, non-believers spend their property on diverting others from the way
of Allah. They will spend it, and then they will regret for it and after this
they will be won. Non-believers will be collected in the hell” . (8)

 And Allah will help us! Allah Akbar!

 Yours faithfully,
 Military Amir of mojaheds Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idris
 "Caucasus-center"
 Chechenpress, 01.09.05


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