Ziyauddin Mahaev: “I was in Turkey!..”

Turkish media sources have claimed that a Chechen named Ziyauddin Mahaev, is one of the assasins involved in the Chechen murders in Istanbul, Turkey on September 16. The alleged killer spoke to a Turkish newspaper and confirmed that he was in Turkey that day.

Ziyauddin Mahaev spoke to the daily Turkish newspaper “Turkiye Gazetesi“: “I came to Turkey on September 8 by motorway and stayed there for 10 days. I was in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul on the day of the incident, September 16. However, I was at ‘Yes Polo’ leather fabric all day buying some merchandise for my stores in Chechnya. You may check the security video records at the fabric store or you may ask the workers. The woman in hijab in the photo at the airport is not my wife, she is my brother’s wife. This is the first time I have seen the other people in the photos. All the allegations against me are slander, I didn’t kill anyone. I heard of the murders over the telephone from a friend. I don’t know who killed them. Also, I don’t know who the victims are. I never heard their names. I am an ordinary person. I don’t deal with politics, my deal is business. I don’t understand why I am the target of Turkish media. I also would like to know who the murderers are”.

He also answered the question of why he is with Ramzan Kadyrov in some photos. “I studied in Turkey, thus my Turkish is quite good. After I graduated in 2005, I returned to my country. I didn’t have a professional position as an interpreter. However, when they needed one, I took charge,” he said.

He also claimed that he is not running away and that he is stil in Chechnya, because until now there has been no demand from Turkish law enforcement agencies about the issue.

Recall who Ziyauddin Mahaev is. He is well-known by many Chechen diaspora members and public figures in Turkey. He was born on January 25, 1968 in Grozny, Chechnya. He graduated in 2005 from the school of theology at Marmara State University in Istanbul, Turkey. It was known that he was one of the Chechen students who were sent to Turkey by Hajji Akhmad Kadyrov. Even with all the warnings, some members of the Chechen diaspora in Turkey created good relations with Ziyauddin Mahaev, and helped him during his education. At the moment his official position is construction coordinator at MECHETSTROY (МЕЧЕТЬСТРОЙ) in the Russian occupied Chechnya, which he has held since 2006. He accompanied Ramzan Kadyrov during his visit to Turkey in 2009. He also represented Ramzan Kadyrov, together with Emruddin Edilgiriev at various events in Turkey. He was presented to the top Turkish officials including Bulent Arinc, deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey by Seyfullah Turksoy, a Turkish journalist who makes propaganda for Kadyrov in Turkey. But, the strange thing is that after the publication of “Haber Turk”, Seyfullah Turksoy deleted all photos of Ziyauddin, as well as the articles where Ziyauddin’s name was mentioned on his own websites. At the same time, Seyfullah Turksoy has published an urgent press-statement where he mentioned that he is not working for Ramzan Kadyrov, but claims that he is a simple journalist who has conducted interviews not only with Kadyrov but also many other dictators and KGB puppets such as Heydar Aliyev, Saparmurat Niyazov Turkmenbasi, Askar Akayev, Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Ilham Aliyev.

On the other hand, it is not clear who the assassins and instigators of the murders in Turkey are. The Turkish media has published a lot of stories and still there is no official statement from the Turkish authorities. They have kept their silence since the incident.

For an idea, you may see these photos:

In Turkey: Ziyauddin Mahaev together with Ramzan Kadyrov during his visit