The daily Turkish newspaper “Haber Turk” has reported that 10 months after the assassination of three Chechen asylum seekers in Istanbul, Turkish authorities have asked Interpol to create a “Red Notice” for Alexander Zharkov (Garkov), and issued an arrest warrant at all their border crossings for Nadim Ayupov.

Recall that on September 16, 2011, three Chechen asylum seekers, Berg-Khazh Musaev (aka Emir Khamzat), Rustam Altemirov and Zaurbek Amriev, were assassinated in front of their apartment in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul. After the assassination, it appeared that Russian spies were behind the murders, but Turkish authorities chose to stay silent about the issue. According to the “Haber Turk” article from July 31, Turkish authorities have taken the first step in arresting the Russian murder suspects.

Turkish police have already contacted Interpol and asked for a “Red Notice” for Alexander Zharkov, who is the prime suspect as far as the Turkish police are concerned. As part of the investigation, Turkish police think that Nadim Ayupov is the second person behind the assassinations, thus they have sent a notification to all of their border crossings: “Nadim Ayupov, who is determined as a suspect in the murder of three Chechens in Istanbul, may attempt to enter or leave, so be aware of the situation and in case of his arrest, inform our directorate: Homicide Department of Istanbul Public Peace Branch”.

According to the investigation, Alexander Zharkov is the key figure behind the assassination. Zharkov had arrived in Turkey in July of 2011, stayed three days and left. Then, on September 2, 2011 he came back and met with Nadim Ayupov. Three days later, he left once again, and two days before the assassinations, he arrived back in Turkey, but this time through Antalya Airport, changing the name on his passport to “Alexandr”. After the murders, Zharkov and Ayubov disappeared and Turkish authorities believe that Zharkov left the Turkey illegally. It is believed that Ayubov is probably still in Turkey. Istanbul police sent a letter to Antalya Police Headquarters and asked for the photos of him from when he entered the airport.

Turkish police also believe that Alexander Zharkov has connections to another Chechen murder; that of former Chechen commander Islam Dzhanibekov, in the Umraniye district of Istanbul in 2008. Zharkov arrived in Istanbul just 11 days before the assassination and left through Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport 9 days after. Authorities think that he took part in assassination plans during his short stay.

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