The website Daymohk has reported that Abdulla Erzanukayev, a Chechen refugee and former businessman, was shot dead in France.

According to the website, there is no detailed information yet about what really happened in France. All that is known is that on May 6, Erzanukayev and his Armenian friend were shot dead somewhere in France. There are some rumors that the alleged killer surrendered to the authorities, yet surprisingly there is not any news in the French media about this high profile assassination.

Abdulla Erzanukayev, born in 1948, was a citizen of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. A construction engineer, he built houses in Chechnya, investing his own money in his country’s economy. When Russian troops arrived in Chechnya, they destroyed not only his house, but his plans. In order to save his family, he (his wife and his three daughters) sought asylum as a political refugee in the West. After numerous ordeals, he requested political asylum in France. He has chosen a particularly peaceful course in life, and has never in his life taken up arms, deciding instead to serve his country in the best way he could. In the West he has enjoyed considerable success in business, and he has spent almost everything he has earned on humanitarian aid for Chechnya and the Chechen refugee population in Azerbaijan. He has organized visits to Chechnya by Western journalists, ensuring their safety in the difficult conditions of the war with Russia. This work has not endeared him to the Russian security agencies. In Moscow, authorities brought legal action against his relatives, and seized his remaining business interests in Russia. His wife, Zarema was arrested in Moscow when she travelled to Russia to visit her family, and was held on remand in the FSB jail at Lefortovo on a ridiculous charge. He and his company, Kama Trade, based in Paris were accused of being active aiders of the Chechen field commanders Shamil Basayev and Khamzat Gelayev. Thus, he was arrested by French police on September 17, 2003 and kept in prison until October 30, 2003. After his release, Abdulla Erzanukayev blamed the FSB of being behind those unreal accusations. Since then, he retired from his business activities and was trying to live in silence and peace.

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco