Federal prosecutors in Germany have demanded that a man accused of attempting to organise the assassination of a Chechen opposition figure be sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Valid Dadakaev is standing trial at the Munich Higher Regional Court for an alleged 2020 attempt on the life of Muhammad Abdurakhmanov, the brother of prominent Chechen opposition blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov.
On Thursday, prosecutors said in court that Dadakaev had agreed to commit an ‘insidious murder with base motives’, preparing an act of violence that ‘endangered the state’, as well as violating weapons laws, Spiegel reported.
Prosecutors reportedly said the killing was ordered directly by a cousin of Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, a claim previously made by Tumso Abdurakhmanov.
‘This time, Kadyrov entrusted the organisation of the murder of my brother not to [Chechen MP] Adam Delimkhanov, but to his cousin, Pakhrudi Edilgiriev, better known in Chechnya as a burglar’, Tumso Abdurakhmanov said in a video in March 2021.
The attempt on Muhammad Abdurakhmanov was foiled by German authorities in December 2020. Dadakaev was arrested several weeks later and has been in custody since.
According to investigators, Dadakaev commissioned another man, Tamerlan Aurbiev, to carry out the murder.
Muhammad Abdurakhmanov told OC Media that the assassination attempt was prevented after Tamerlan contacted him directly to warn him.
‘He said he did not want to do this, but he was being forced to, and that with me, he would like to find a way out of this situation that does not harm his family, who at that time were [in Chechnya]’, Abdurakhmanov said.
Muhammad Abdurakhmanov. Image via Facebook.
Abdurakhmanov linked the plot to his brothers’ opposition activities.
‘In 2019, they couldn’t kill him and decided to send this message: “If we can’t get to you, then we will get to your little brother” ’, he said.
In 2019, Tumso Abdurakhmanov fought off a Chechen man who broke into his home in Poland as he slept and attacked him with a hammer.
‘They also wanted to stop my activity, which is not as wide as Tumso’s, but still, it exists’, Muhammad Abdurakhmanov said.
‘For Kadyrovites who practice collective responsibility, killing a younger brother is nothing, because they [also frequently] hold both the father and mother accountable for the activities of their children.’
Authorities believe that Dadakaev was assisted by an employee of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.
According to Abdurakhmanov, the employee has been accused of selling his home address to Dadakaev.
Abdurakhmanov added that he still feared for his safety.
‘As long as this regime exists, my life will always be threatened. The law enforcement agencies of Germany are well aware of this, so they are taking measures to protect me’, he said.
‘Kadyrov has huge state resources, so there will always be people who agree to fulfil these political orders for money’, he added.
According to Spiegel, a verdict is expected in August.
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