The investigation of Istanbul police’s Public Peace Branch into the assassination of three Chechen asylum seekers confirms that Russian agents are behind it, according to the daily Turkish newspaper “Haber Turk”.

On September 16, 2011, three Chechen asylum seekers, Berg-Khazh Musaev (aka Emir Khamzat), Rustam Altemirov and Zaurbek Amriev, were assasinated in front of their appartment in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul. Information confirming that the assasinations were carried out by Russian agents was determined by Istanbul police’s Public Peace Branch officers who conducted the investigation. Also according to the police evaluation, the assassinations were realized by three different task forces. It is foreseen that each task force has two or three members.

According to Turkish police, a Russian agent, whose name is Nadim Ayupov, rented a car for 15 days. He followed the Chechens and studied them. He then delivered the information which he gathered and left the rented car. A member of the second task force, Alexandr Garkov (Zharkov) rented six cars in all. He handed one of the cars over to the third task force. Another agent from the third task force carried out the murders of the three Chechen asylum seekers using a silenced gun. Garkov and Ayupov have been seen together on video, however, both left Turkey before the assassinations.

It has also been learned that 55 year old Russian agent Alexandr Garkov has a Russian diplomatic passport. He was in Turkey in February 2009 when another Chechen asylum seeker, Ali Osaev was murdered; thus Turkish police think he may be connected to this murder as well.

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